Women Pioneers in Texas Medicine

Women have offered medical care as midwives and herbalists for centuries. As the authors of this book show, however, the women who have worked in the medical professions in Texas not only staked out traditional roles but also moved into new territory as science and technology developed. Women Pioneers in Texas Medicine is the first-ever book on Texas women who practice the healing arts and sciences. The pioneering figures presented here have broken new ground in fields ranging from nursing, pharmacy, public health, and dentistry to general and hospital practice, hospice care, virology, surgery, and psychiatry. Their stories reveal the special obstacles they faced and overcame as women practicing in demanding, frequently all-male fields. Their profiles also chronicle the history of medicine in the state generally since their accomplishments paralleled and in some instances led the development of medical practice and specialization.

Using vignettes and biographical details garnered from literature, newspaper archives, typescripts in various libraries, and interviews, Elizabeth Silverthorne and Geneva Fulgham have created profiles of women ranging from the traditional to contemporary pioneers in fields such as genetics and nuclear medicine.

The accomplichments of the women heighten our understanding of the ways in which they have defied stereotype. Through dedication to their chosen fields, often against great odds, the women profiled here contributed to an elevated status for all women in the state.