1. HUM 431.BGender in Medicine
Presented By:
Philip Nguyen
Khuyen Nguyen
Thanh Nguyen
Michael Nguyen
Presented On:
March 25th 2010

2. Our Thesis:
Early medical narratives attempt to defy the common belief that a womans nature is a hindrance in the medical profession.
Moreover it illustrates that women are more than capable of succeeding in a field dominated by men.
3. Civil War
The Civil War took place from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865
More than three million men participated in the war
Nearly 2%, 620,000, of the entire population passed away as a result of the Civil War
The Civil War revolutionized the role of women
Women began to contribute society in a variety of ways and undertake new roles and responsibilities
4. Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania to Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail May
Alcott also had three sisters, May, Elizabeth and Anna, and spent a majority of her childhood in Concord, Massachusetts
Unlike many children of her time, Louisa May Alcott received a substantial education from her father whom was a philosopher
Alcott studied under many prominent literary authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne
Alcott was an avid supported of womens rights, and the abolition of slavery
She eventually passed away on March 6, 1888, only two days after her father
5. Beliefs of Women and Nursing in the 19th Century
The primary role of women during the 19th century was to manage the household and to perform domestic tasks
Before Florence Nightingale, nursing was regarded as a menial profession reserved for the lower classes of society
Women were considered inadequate for the profession because society believed that women would not be able to handle the harsh realities and extreme environments of the medical field
Critics also assumed that female nurses would spend a majority of their time flirting with male patients
In 1908, a federal investigation revealed that nursing was a morally dangerous occupation
6. Hospital Sketches
Having a taste for "ghastliness," I had rather longed for the wounded to arrive, for rheumatism wasn't heroic, neither was liver complaint, or measles; even fever had lost its charms since "bathing burning brows" had been used up in romances, real and ideal..
If she had requested me to shave them all, or dance a hornpipe on the stove funnel, I should have been less staggered; but to scrub some dozen lords of creation at a moment's notice, was reallyreally. However, there was no time for nonsense, and, having resolved when I came to do everything I was bid, I drowned my scruples in my wash-bowl, clutched my soap manfully, and, assuming a business-like air, made a dab at the first dirty specimen I saw, bent on performing my task vi et armis if necessary.
The sight of several stretchers, each with its legless, armless, or desperately wounded occupant, entering my ward, admonished me that I was there to work, not to wonder or weep; so I corked up my feelings, and returned to the path of duty, which was rather "a hard road to travel" just then.
7. Hospital Sketches
A six foot New Hampshire man, with a leg broken and perforated by a piece of shell, so large that, had I not seen the wound, I should have regarded the story as a Munchausenism, beckoned me to come and help him, as he could not sit up, and both his bed and beard were getting plentifully anointed with soup.
He was so overpowered by the honor of having a lady wash him, as he expressed it, that he did nothing but roll up his eyes, and bless me, in an irresistible style which was too much for my sense of the ludicrous; so we laughed together, and when I knelt down to take off his shoes, he flopped also, and wouldn't hear of my touching them dirty craters..
He looked up at me with his one eye so appealingly, that I controlled my risibles, and assured him that if Josephine was a girl of sense, she would admire the honorable scar, as a lasting proof that he had faced the enemy, for all women thought a wound the best decoration a brave soldier could wear. I hope Miss Skinner verified the good opinion I so rashly expressed of her, but I shall never know.
8. Hospital Sketches
Bless you there's not the slightest hope for him; and you'd better tell him so before long; women have a way of doing such things comfortably, so I leave it to you. He won't last more than a day or two, at furthest."
and, in the midst of it all, the matron's motherly face brought more comfort to many a poor soul, than the cordial draughts she administered, or the cheery words that welcomed all, making of the hospital a home.
More flattering than the most gracefully turned compliment, more grateful than the most admiring glance, was the sight of those rows of faces, all strange to me a little while ago, now lighting up, with smiles of welcome, as I came among them, enjoying that moment heartily, with a womanly pride in their regard, a motherly affection for them all.
9. 10. A Bit about the Story
The Narrator is expressive and imaginative.
Her treatment consists of no environmental stimulation, and restricting her imagination.
John(her husband) tries to remedy her sickness.
John represents the male dominance in her life.
11. Important Quotes from the Story
The front pattern DOES move - and no wonder! The woman behind shakes it! Sometimes I think there are a great many women behind, and sometimes only one, and she crawls around fast, and her crawling shakes it all over.
I am glad my case is not serious! But these nervous troubles are dreadfully depressing. John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.
12. Story Behind the Story
Name :Charlotte Perkins Gilman
At one time almost borderline insane.
Her Specialist knew what was best for her.
His treatment did not help, only worsened her condition.
13. Quotes from the Author
To swallow and follow, whether old doctrine or new propaganda, is a weakness still dominating the human mind.
It is not that women are really smaller-minded, weaker-minded, more timid and vacillating, but that whosoever, man or woman, lives always in a small, dark place, is always guarded, protected, directed and restrained, will become inevitably narrowed and weakened by it. The woman is narrowed by the home and the man is narrowed by the woman.
14. Dr. Zay(1882)
by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
15. Dr Zay
Traditional gender roles are reversed
Female physician is portrayed as strong, independent, and intelligent
Male patient, Waldo Yorke, is portrayed as a weak and fragile
Dr Zay initially hid her sex from her patient to prevent discrimination
Proves women can have a job in a field typically dominated by men but still be feminine
16. Dr. Zay
That it is me you want, -- a strong-minded doctor?
"How do you know I sha'n't make a -- what was it? -- 'cold,' 'unnatural,' 'unwomanly' wife? How can you expect anything else, sir?"
17. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 -1910)
1st female in American history to be accepted to medical school
Family fled from England to US because of opposition to liberal views
Inspired by a female cancer patient to become a doctor
Declined by 19 medical schools before she was accepted to Geneva College in NY in 1947; received degree in 1949
Female patient: "I may be poor and cast out by the Lord into a paupers bed, but Ill have no woman to take care of me in my illness!
Formed the New York Infirmary for Women and Children with her sister and friend
1868 formed a medical college in NY
18. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Encouraged by Blackwell to pursue career in nursing
Volunteered to aid soldiers during Crimean War
Improved sanitation in hospitals; death rate decreased
Began campaigning for better quality of nursing in military hospitals
Found Nightingale School & Home for Nurses at St. Thomas's Hospital in London
Sets an example of commitment to patient care
19. The Doctors of Hoyland (1894):Arthur Conan Doyle
He could not recall any Biblical injunction that the man should remain ever the doctor and the woman the nurse, and yet he felt as if a blasphemy had been committed.
"Well, Dr. Smith! But if you insist upon an answer, I must say that I do not think medicine a suitable profession for women and that I have a personal objection to masculine ladies
20. After Trauma
"She knows her work as well as you or I."
I feel that I have been quite in the wrong."
"Why, then?"
"Over this woman question. I used to think that a woman must inevitably lose something of her charm if she took up such studies."
"Oh, you don't think they are necessarily unsexed, then?
"At any rate, it is the truth.
21. Modern Medical Literature: House M.D.
. Mondays 8pm eastern. FOX
On 6th season.
Premiered in late 2004.
Gregory House: Genius with Side Effects.
House: "Gorgeous women do not go to medical school. Unless they're as damaged as they are beautiful.
22. Allison Cameron M.D.
She is known for her honesty, sincerity, idealism and strong ethical center.
She is an atheist, but expresses a feeling of respect for people with religious beliefs unlike House who taunts them.

At the age of 21, Cameron fell in love with a man, knowing that he had been diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer.They got married, and six months later her husband died because the cancer had metastasized to his brain.