Doctor or Doctress?

Explore American history through the eyes of women physicians

Dean Tracy writes to Hatfield, a member of the Philadelphia Health Council, about the difficulty of finding internships for African American graduates. She seeks any help or cooperation he can provide.

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“She Has Undertaken a Herculean Task”: Early African American Women Physicians

Once students graduated from medical school, they were then expected to continue their training at a hospital for several years to gain clinical experience. These temporary positions were then called internships (today, we call them residencies), and the hospitals provided housing for the interns for the duration of their time there. In the early 20th century, internships open to black women doctors were hard to find. Even at African American-run hospitals, men were favored over women for the limited number of positions available. In her effort to address this problem, WMCP dean Martha Tracy wrote to Charles Hatfield, a member of the Philadelphia Health Council.

Once students graduate from medical school, they are expected to continue their training at a hospital for several years. In the early 20th century, there were few of these internships open to black women doctors. Without this important clinical experience, these women would not be considered fully trained on an equal footing with male doctors.

Creator: Tracy, Martha

Contributor: Hatfield, Charles J.

Language: english

Item Number: a266_009

Pages: 1

Size: 21X28

Physical Collection: Records of W/MCP: Registrar 1921-1975, ACC-266

Finding Aid: archives.drexelmed.edu/collect/inventories/a266_inventory.pdf

Link to OPAC Record: http://innopac.library.drexel.edu/search/c?SEARCH=ACC-266

Cite this source: Title of document, date. Early African-American Woman Physicians: She has undertaken a Herculean task. Doctor or Doctress?: Explore American history through the eyes of women physicians. The Legacy Center, Drexel University College of Medicine Archives & Special Collections. Philadelphia, PA. Date of access. http://lcdc.library.drexel.edu/islandora/object/islandora:1856

Moore, Lillian A. (Lillian Atkins)

Philadelphia Health Council

Discrimination in medical education

African American women physicians

Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania--Alumni and alumnae

Philadelphia (Pa.)