African American Women Firsts in Medicine
Black women challenged exclusion in medicine, nursing, and research, expanding professional opportunities and improving care for communities neglected by existing institutions.
Women worth knowing
All Stories
Extraordinary women, overlooked stories, and a more complete history. Explore the lives, ideas, and achievements that changed the world.
women in medicine
3 Famous Nurses in History
Nurses transformed care through wartime service, public health reform, and disaster relief, changing how institutions served patients and how communities responded to people in need.
Margaret Nash, courageous WWII POW navy nurse
She nursed fellow prisoners through disease and near-starvation in a wartime camp, then survived to continue caring for patients and teaching others to do the same.
Fe del Mundo, first female student at Harvard Medical School
She sold her home to build a children’s hospital, then devoted her career to improving care and reaching families poorly served by existing services.
Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, Hawaiian healer
She adapted a spiritual tradition centered on reconciliation and shared it internationally, building a following around forgiveness, personal reflection, and the repair of relationships.
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., America’s first female doctor
She earned a medical degree when the profession excluded women, then helped build hospitals and schools that made it possible for others to follow.