3 Women That Changed The History Of Medical Science

It takes the term “sisters, are doing it for themselves” to a whole new and literal level but leading the private healthcare industry in Britain is an increasing number of women. Last year (2020), the British Medical Journal published its top 100 women in healthcare list and all areas of the medical fraternity (sorority even); you’ll find brave and pioneering women who have made outstanding contributions to the field of healthcare excellence for decades. 

Medical science is undergoing a massive leap forward thanks to advances in healthcare; we’re at an exhilarating stage of robot technology in our research and development, so one could argue that it’s the perfect time to enter the profession, especially for women.

So while we don’t have the space in this post to celebrate every one of those 100 inspiring women, we’re going to pick on just a few of the brave, pioneering women who took on the male-dominated world of medical science throughout history and won.

ELIZABETH BLACKWELL (1821 - 1910)

Elizabeth Blackwell was a physician and notable as the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States and the first woman on the register of the General Medical Council. Furthermore, as an inspiring feather in the cap of aspiring Britons of the female kind, she was born in Bristol, making her very British indeed.

She faced much discrimination and had very few patients, probably down to the perception that woman doctors were abortionists. She and her sister contributed to the American Civil War efforts, and she was an avowed abolitionist.

GERTRUDE ELION (1918 - 1999)

Honored for her work as a pharmacologist and biochemist in the field of treating diseases, this American woman went on to share the 1988 Nobel Prize for her efforts in developing drugs to treat serious diseases. After retiring, he supervised the development of the drug azidothymidine, which is an AIDS treatment that prevents the transmission of the HIV Virus from mother to child.

MARI CURIE (1867 - 1934)

Marie Curie was a Polish (but naturalized French citizen) physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research in radioactivity. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and is also the only woman to have won the award twice. Curie is also the only person to have won the award for recognition of work done in two different scientific fields, and she was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.

It is not surprising then that women continue to lead the charge in medical advancements and areas of healthcare excellence in Britain today, with female medical school students outnumbering their male counterparts for the first time in history.

The United Kingdom continues to attract top performers in various areas of the medical field from all over the world, and a large number of these people coming to build their careers here are women. Many are going into the NHS while many are opening up private practices and; or working at global research facilities of excellence all over the United Kingdom.

The time has never been better to realize your medical career ambitions, so be brave, bold and confident and find your inspiration from these incredible women.

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