The state of healthcare in America is far from perfect. From the high costs of primary care to physician shortages to health inequity, medical care has struggled to reach its full potential nationwide. Health inequity, particularly, has been plaguing minorities since the 17th century, especially due to slavery, racism, and discrimination. The Black community has persistently struggled to get equal access to high-quality medical care and medical education. Women, additionally, struggled to receive equal opportunity and respect as the men who entered the medical field. Here are five Black women doctors who redefined the boundaries of acquiring medical education and made major contributions to public health today.
1. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD
Dr. Crumpler became the first black woman in the U.S to receive a medical degree. From 1852 to 1860, she worked as a nurse in Boston, Massachusetts, and by 1860 she was accepted to the New England Female Medical College. Once earning her MD, she moved to Richmond, Virginia, and worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau to treat the formerly enslaved. She battled severe racism and sexism in her journey through medicine, but her tenacity proved to the nation that black women are equally capable of becoming excellent doctors.
2. Marilyn Hughes Gaston, MD
Dr. Gaston became a lead researcher for sickle cell disease, where she was awarded a seat as the deputy branch chief of the Sickle Cell Disease Branch at the NIH. She led a pivotal research study that studied how administering oral penicillin could reduce the incidence of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in newborns with sickle-cell anemia. In turn, this study resulted in a nationwide newborn screening program for sickle-cell disease. Throughout her medical career, she has been awarded every honor the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps holds.
3. Patricia Era Bath, MD
Dr. Bath was the first black person to complete an ophthalmology residency, and her work at the Harlem Hospital’s Eye Clinic inspired her to study blindness and visual impairment rates in the African-American community. She found that black people have double the rate of blindness than white people, so she dedicated her career to studying the disparity of visual impairments between the two communities. She established the discipline of community health, where visual impairments must be observed from the perspectives of local community care, and widescale public health.
4. Alexa irene Canady, MD
Dr. Canady became the first black neurosurgeon in the United States and specialized further to become a pediatric neurosurgeon. By the mid-1980s, she was granted the position of chief of neurosurgery at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. Her biggest worries in medicine were if her race could limit her chances to practice, but by focusing on patient-centered care, she had ample opportunity to exercise her skills, and has been a huge beacon of light for many patients in need.
5. Regina Marcia Benjamin, MD, MBA
Dr. Benjamin was appointed by Barack Obama to be the 18th Surgeon General, but her impactful work began years prior when she opened the BayouClinic in Bayou La Batre, Louisiana. Her goal was to establish a clinic that provided medical care, social services, and health education, and where “…patients can come to receive healthcare with dignity.”
Medicine is a field that is constantly changing to incorporate new findings, but it is still a field that struggles to have adequate representation. These are five out of hundreds of influential doctors who made major strides in their careers and communities. It only goes to show that medicine is a place where diversity is necessary to bring adequate health and revolutionize care further than what seems possible.
Sources:
https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/celebrating-10-african-american-medical-pioneers
https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/current-issues-in-healthcare/