Join us as we celebrate National Women Physician Day in honor of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from medical school and receive a medical degree in the United States. Dr. Blackwell paved the way and opened the door for women to pursue adoctorate degree--and a career--in medicine, a path that had been previously accessible to men alone. 

Grin Eye Care is very proud of its own women physicians, Dr. Barbara Wolock and Dr. Anne Wishna. They work side-by-side with our wonderful optometrists, Dr. Jennifer Johnson, Dr. Breanne Niebuhr, Dr. Lori Berwald, and Dr. Emily Enright. Our doctors couldn't do what they do without the strong team of women backing them up, from our ophthalmic technicians, to our front desk personnel, billing team, and opticians.

The most recent data shows that women make up 33% of the active physicians in the United States, compared to only 11% in 1981. Thanks to strong, intelligent, compassionate and motivated women like Dr. Blackwell, we are changing the dynamic in the medical field. Much has changed since Dr. Blackwell graduated from medical school in 1849 and we celebrate her for igniting this movement.
 

We can show unity by celebrating #NationalWomenPhysicianDay and honoring the many accomplishments women have made in the medical field. Dr. Hala Sabry, an emergency medicine physician, said it best when she wrote, "Together we have the power to bring about positive changes for physicians and patients alike."
 

Notable Women Physicians in History:
 
  • Elizabeth Garrett Anderson: the first woman physician in Europe
  • Elizabeth Blackwell: the first woman physician in the United States
  • Francoise Barre-Sinoussi: helped identify HIV as the cause of AIDS and won the Nobel Prize for her work in 2008
  • Patricia Era Barth: pioneer in ophthalmology; founded American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness; became the first African-American woman to receive a medical patent (for a device to use lasers to remove cataracts), and the first African-American staff surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center
  • Gertrude Bell Elion: awarded the Nobel Prize in 1988 for discovering medications for HIV/AIDS, herpes, leukemia, and other immunity disorders
  • Antonia Novello: first woman to serve as the U.S. Surgeon General

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