Committee on the Status of Women Faculty in Medicine

Ever since Elizabeth Blackwell became the first American woman to gain admission to medical school over 150 years ago, women have made great advances within the medical profession. By overcoming traditional barriers to take their place within the profession of medicine, they have become a strong and vital force, achieving a level of prominence that was unimaginable in the 19th century.

Temple University School of Medicine's Committee on the Status of Women Faculty in Medicine coordinates and sponsors activities and programs that continue to promote the professional development of women at the levels of faculty, residents, fellows and students. Our mission is to ensure that the rising numbers of women in medicine continue to increase and women continue to succeed in the profession of medicine. To achieve our goal, we:

• Coordinate and monitor the integration of women's health and gender-related issues
• Provide liaison with the medical school administration
• Promote faculty development through workshops and seminars
• Promote mentoring and networking
• Nominate clinicians and basic science faculty for awards and leadership training programs
  

We carry on in the spirit of Dr. Marie Mergler, a pioneering woman abdominal surgeon and gynecologist at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, who in 1896 wrote:

"No woman studying medicine today will ever know how much it has cost the individuals personally concerned in bringing about these changes; how eagerly they have watched new developments and mourned each defeat and rejoiced with each success. For with them it meant much more than success or failure for the individual, it meant the failure or success of a grand cause."