Turning Oppression into Opportunity: Women in Surgery

Topic: Research on the lives, work, impact, and common struggles of three of women who played a vital role in the legal practice of medical surgery: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, Dr. Elizabeth Garret Anderson and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. Introduction (thesis): Women have made serious advances in the fields of medicine and surgery in the recent past, but despite the progression that have been made, women are grossly underrepresented in medicine, especially in surgery. The current investigation aims toanalyze the life and career histories of three of the first women in medicine and surgery namely, Dr. Elizabeth/Emily Blackwell, Dr. Elizabeth Garret Anderson and Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. This will be done through the exploration of the personal, political, cultural, and economic factors that led to the success of these women. – The final product will be a paper, 15 to 20 page-long (double-spaced), APA format – Please use academic sources (books, journals, encyclopedias) and reliable web sources. – In addition to other sources, please make use of our course readings as well. Outline I- Body: A- Why aren’t there more women in surgery? 1- Gender Stereotypes:​ a- Traditional gender roles i- Unconscious social gender assumptions pertaining the knowledge and capability of women. ii- Inability to fulfil social and familial expectations. iii- Sex-based stereotypes that rendered the roles and interests of women b- Perception of Science as a Male-dominated field i- Historical linking of “Science” and “Masculinity”. ii- Linking Medicine to Science : Doing medicine requires one to be excel at all sciences; and since women were considered incapable of doing science – medicine was a very difficult field for women to gain access to, I want to first discuss women in ANCIENT surgery: Western civilization, the earliest account dates to 3500 before common era (BCE) at the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia.1 Flint and bronze surgical instruments were uncovered from the grave of Queen Shubad of Ur.1 Dating to 1500 BCE, there were female medical students in Heliopolis, Egypt.2 In ancient Greece around 500 common era (CE), Leto, wife of Zeus and mother of Apollo, cured the wounds of Arneas, the founder of Rome.1 Aesculapius, son of Apollo, had 4 daughters who were all physicians. With the fall of Corinth (150 BCE), Greek female prisoners were taken to Italy where those with medical knowledge fetched the highest price. Aëtius (150 CE) wrote the Tetrabiblion, which describes the surgical techniques of Aspasia, a Greco-Roman female surgeon. This served as the main surgical text into the 11th century. 1- Structural Opportunities: The conditions that make the production of women scientific pioneers possible: historical factors, positive and negative, that can shape one’s aspirations for scientific development and a science career. Being outstanding in ability, effort, and style alone is not sufficient to propel a talented woman to the forefront of science… A set of structural forces must be in place to open up new possibilities for women… Selection of individuals for advancement is usually beyond any one person’s control; career prospects of both men and women in science can be affected by changes in the society. The structural shifts that precipitated women’s entry into the scientific establishment can be classified into three categories: cultural, economic and political. 1- The Cultural Factor: Relate to the culture the women lived in and how the cultural environment impeded their scientific careers 2- The Economic Factor: funds & facilities for building labs or doing research and fieldwork. The indirect impacts on the scientific community and society include: a- Changing gender roles in society because of increased women’s participation in education and employment. b- Changes in the gender composition of the science workforce. c- Increases in competition for resources, rewards, and recognition. d- Diversification on the top of the scientific establishment. e- Testing of the scientific establishment’s normative and reward structures. 3- The Political Factor: such as legislative changes in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s allowed women scientists to play a bigger role in shaping the education and employment of women: the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibited discrimination in education and employment based on sex. The equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 further loosened social constraints on women’s participation in the labor force 2- Institutional Forces a. The Institutionalization of Science i- The prohibition of women from Scientific Institutions ii- The role of education and access to formal medical schools b. Sexism in the Surgical Environment i- Subtle Sexist discrimination in the medical fields ii- Unsubtle discrimination B- Challenging the norm: The women that broke the glass ceiling in Medical School 1- Dr. Elizabeth/Emily Blackwell:​ a- Background i- Family life ii- Financial Support b- Individual attributes i- Personalities/Characteristics ii- Personal Viewpoints/interests c- Education i- Schooling ii- Admission to Medical University and emphasis on struggles of becoming a surgeon iii- Attitudes encountered in effort to pursue Medicine and their effect on her iiii- Devotion to Medicine v- Personal Achievements and contribution The Cultural Factor: Relate to the culture the women lived in and how the cultural environment impeded their scientific careers The Economic Factor: funds & facilities for building labs or doing research and fieldwork. The indirect impacts on the scientific community and society include: a- Changing gender roles in society because of increased women’s participation in education and employment. b- Changes in the gender composition of the science workforce. c- Increases in competition for resources, rewards, and recognition. d- Diversification on the top of the scientific establishment. e- Testing of the scientific establishment’s normative and reward structures. The Political Factor: such as legislative changes in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s allowed women scientists to play a bigger role in shaping the education and employment of women: the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibited discrimination in education and employment based on sex. The equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 further loosened social constraints on women’s participation in the labor force 2- Dr. Elizabeth Garret Anderson: a- Background i- Family life ii- Financial Support b- Individual attributes i- Personalities/Characteristics ii- Personal Viewpoints/interests c- Education i- Schooling ii- Admission to Medical University iii- Attitudes encountered in effort to pursue Medicine and their effect on her iiii- Devotion to Medicine v- Personal Achievements and contribution The Cultural Factor: Relate to the culture the women lived in and how the cultural environment impeded their scientific careers The Economic Factor: funds & facilities for building labs or doing research and fieldwork. The indirect impacts on the scientific community and society include: a- Changing gender roles in society because of increased women’s participation in education and employment. b- Changes in the gender composition of the science workforce. c- Increases in competition for resources, rewards, and recognition. d- Diversification on the top of the scientific establishment. e- Testing of the scientific establishment’s normative and reward structures. The Political Factor: such as legislative changes in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s allowed women scientists to play a bigger role in shaping the education and employment of women: the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibited discrimination in education and employment based on sex. The equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 further loosened social constraints on women’s participation in the labor force. 3- Mary Edwards Walker: a- Background i- Family life ii- Financial Support b- Individual attributes i- Personalities/Characteristics ii- Personal Viewpoints/interests c- Education i- Schooling ii- Admission to Medical University iii- Attitudes encountered in effort to pursue Medicine and their effect on her iiii- Devotion to Medicine v- Personal Achievements and contribution The Cultural Factor: Relate to the culture the women lived in and how the cultural environment impeded their scientific careers The Economic Factor: funds & facilities for building labs or doing research and fieldwork. The indirect impacts on the scientific community and society include: a- Changing gender roles in society because of increased women’s participation in education and employment. b- Changes in the gender composition of the science workforce. c- Increases in competition for resources, rewards, and recognition. d- Diversification on the top of the scientific establishment. e- Testing of the scientific establishment’s normative and reward structures. The Political Factor: such as legislative changes in the US in the 1960’s and 1970’s allowed women scientists to play a bigger role in shaping the education and employment of women: the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibited discrimination in education and employment based on sex. The equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 further loosened social constraints on women’s participation in the labor force C- Similarities between the three women: 1- Familial upbringing 2- Individual attributes 3- Obstacles encountered in pursuit of medical education 1- Research Paper Format Rubric for Research Papers I- Introduction It must contain: 1- An attention getting opening 2- Clear thesis statement which directly answers the research question 3 – Statements of intension are not acceptable II- Body 1- All paragraphs have clear topic sentences which support and explain the thesis 2- Paragraphs are unified and coherent 3- All assertions are supported by primary or secondary sources 4- Quotes are introduced and/or commented upon 5- Evidence of complex, insightful, sophisticated critical thinking about the subject in question 6- Efficient use of peer-reviewed journals and books as secondary sources 7- Correct use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation 8- Display of concise, emphatic, varied and uncliched prose style 9- Correct use of APA/MLA in-text citations for all quotes or paraphrased material