Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians
April 25–June 6, 2007
University Library, Governors State University, University Park, IL
Brief Program Schedule and Descriptions
Click here for exhibit photographs!
"Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians” was developed by the Exhibition Program of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health. The American Medical Women’s Association provided additional support.
All programs are free and open to the public. However, seating is limited for some programs and pre-registration is requested as indicated.
Please call Lydia Morrow Ruetten to arrange for visits of groups of 10 or more, or for more information at 708-534-4116.
Library and exhibit hours:
Monday, April 23 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. (last day of Winter trimester)
Tuesday, April 24 – May 6 (Trimester Break)
Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Saturday and Sunday (Except for the program on Sunday May 6)
May 7 – June 6
Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
Saturday May 26 Closed
Monday May 28 - Closed - Memorial Day
Program I
Wednesday April 25 and Thursday April 26
12 Noon - 2 pm and repeated 4-6 pm each day
Friday April 27
12 Noon - 5 pm continuous showing
Library Balcony
Running Time: 120 minutes
Video Showing: Changing the Face of Medicine: Profiles of Achievement (2006)
Profiles and interviews of 13 physicians discussing a variety of themes from "Seeking Challenges" and "Shifting Gears" to "Giving Back and "Having a Life." These profiles are linked to hundreds of women physicians' profiles on the National Library of Medicine's web site: www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine.
Presenters: Paul Blobaum, Assistant Professor and Health Professions Librarian, and Lydia Morrow Ruetten, Professor and Head of Serials and Acquisitions, Universitiy Library, Governors State University
Program 2
April 25 to June 6
University Library Exhibit Area
Images of Women Physicians
Images from the American Medical Association's archives illustrate pioneering women physicians in organized medicine, women physicians working in concert with other health professionsals, and women physicians treating vulnerable populations.
Presenter: Penny L. Havlicek, Ph. D., Project Evaluation Specialist, College of Health Professions, Governors State University
Program 3
Tuesday, May 1
12:15 PM - Bring Your Own Lunch
University Library Balcony
Lunchtime Film Festival!
Women in Medicine (1993), a production of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. This program looks at the lives of women in today's medicine and talks about the impact of women doctors on the world of medical care and research. Time: 28 minutes.
Women Scientists with Disabilities (2006), a presentation of the National Institutes of Health, Office of Research on Women's Health and Office of Science Education. Do you dream of a career in science, health or medicine? You are not alone. This video depicts three women scientists with disabilities who followed their dreams and established successful careers. Time: 23 minutes.
Presenter: Paul Blobaum
Program 4
Thursday, May 3
11 AM - 12:30 PM
Room D2401B (University Library) Seating is limited for this hands-on computer based workshop. Please pre-register by calling Lydia Morrow-Ruetten at 708-534-4116.
Exploring the Library of Congress Primary Source Materials for Women Physicians
Familiarize yourself with Library of Congress primary source materials by exploring the Library of Congress's Adventure of the American Mind at this informative hands-on workshop. Participants will learn how to locate digitized primary source materials and use them to enrich teaching, research, and scholarship activity, as well as for personal interest.
Presenter: Lydia Morrow Ruetten
Program 5
Sunday May 6
2-4 PM
University Library
Hen Medics: Early Women Physicians in War
This presentation includes enlightening and revealing information on the role of women in American wars and the gender battles they fought to gain recognition and standing. Dr. Graf's presentation is based on her extensive research and publications on the subject, including her latest book, On the Field of Mercy: Women Medical Volunteers in the Civil War to World War I (New York: Humanities Books, 2007) Dr. Graf is the author of AWoman of Honor: Dr. Mary E. Walker, And the Civil War (Gettysburg, PA: Thomas, 2001). Dr. Walker served the Union Army as a contract surgeon during the Civil War and is the only woman and civilian to be awarded the Medal of Honor, which she wore proudly until her death in 1919. Dr. Walker was captured by the Rebellion and served time in a Confederate prison, charged with spying for the Union. She was released in a prisoner exchange for another man.
Presenter: Mercedes Graf, Ph.D., independent scholar, author, consultant, and former professor of psychology at Governors State University.
Reception and Book Signing of A Woman of Honor
A reception and book signing will follow the presentation. Copies of A Woman of Honor will be available for purchase directly from the author, and are also available for borrowing from the University Library.
Program 6
Tuesday, May 8
1-2 PM
Room D2417 (University Library Administrative Conference Room)
Please call Sarah 708-235-7518 to register
Book Discussion: Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (New York: Kodansha, 1993)
Having Our Say is the award-winning story of centenarian sisters Sadie and Bessie Delany. Sadie was New York City's first black high school home economics teacher, and Bessie was the second black woman licensed to practice dentistry in New York. Join in this discussion of the achievements of these remarkable women.
Moderator: Sarah Wegley, Senior Library Specialist, University Library.
Program 7
Friday May 11
1 - 3 PM
Room D34115
From Rich Township to Billboard Icon: Celebrating the Achievements of Sharon Harris-Ingram, M.D.
Dr. Sharon Harris-Ingram grew up in Park Forest, Illinois, and is a graduate of Rich East High School where she was active in sports. She has transitioned from playing basketball to practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology on a medical team with the OSF Medical Group in Pontiac, Illinois. What do kids need to know about college if they want to consider a medical career? What are the opportunities for minorities in medicine, especially women and ethnic minorities? Dr. Ingram will address these questions and share her path to a life in medicine in a small rural community in central Illinois.
Presenter: Dr. Sharon Harris-Ingram, OSF St. James Hospital and OSF Medical Group, Pontiac, Illinois.
3 - 6 PM
Library Balcony
Exhibit Opening Reception and First Friday Social
Join us for this celebration of the opening of our exhibit and visit with Dr. Ingram, the exhibit sponsors, coordinators, and presentors. Refreshments will be provided.
Hosts: University Library faculty and staff, and the Office of the Provost
Program 8
Tuesday May 15
Noon to 1 pm
Cafeteria Annex
Book Discussion: Maisie Dobbs (New York: Soho Press, 2003)
Awarded "Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times in 2003, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs introduces a series of successful mystery books. The protagonist, Maisie, served as a battlefield nurse in World War I. This narrative describes some of the hardships, both physical and emotional, endured by nurses during the war.
Moderators: Diane Dates Casey, Dean, University Library and Dr. Becky Nugent, Writing Center Coordinator.
Sponsor: The Friends of the University Library
Program 9
Friday, May 18
1:30 - 3:30 pm
Room D2430 (Academic Computing Services Lab)
Your WHAT Hurts? - Finding Quality Health Information
Learn how to find quality health-related materials to answer your medical information needs. This interactive and hands-on workshop explores the variety of consumer health materials available in local libraries and on the Internet. In this session, participants will learn how to formulate search strategies, locate and evaluate health information, become familiar with print and electronic health information resources, and how librarians and library staff can assist you.
Seating is limited, please pre-register by calling Lydia Morrow-Ruetten at 708-534-4116.
Presenter: Debra J. Kakuk, Associate Professor and Health Sciences Librarian at College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Program 10
Saturday, May 19
10:30 AM - Noon
Sherman Music Recital Hall
Explore Health science Careers, Become Part of a Life-Saving Team
Explore the many exciting careers available in the field of Health Sciences in this dynamic and informative presentation. Learn how to research health careers through this PowerPoint and live demonstration. High school youth and adults of all ages will learn what resources to use to find the best fit for personal interests and strengths.
Presenters: Debra J. Kakuk, Associate Professor and Health Sciences Librarian, and Mary S. Konkel, Associate Professor and Head of Technical Services, College of DuPage Library, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Program 11
Monday, May 21
Hall of Honors
7 PM
A Profile of Military and Civilian Medicine: My Nursing Career from Alabama to Vietnam and Beyond
Dr. Connie Edwards will share her experiences from her nursing education at Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama, to service in Vietnam in the Army Nurses Corps, through her work in nursing education at Governors State University. Dr. Edwards will also discuss her advocacy work for all military veterans, which includes co-chairing Chicago's celebrated "Welcome Home" parade in 1986 for veterans of the Vietnam war.
Presenter: Dr. Constance Edwards, Associate Professor of Nursing, College of Health Professions, Governors State University.
Program 12
Tuesday, May 22
2 - 6 PM
E-Lounge
Heartland Blood Center Blood Drive
More than 500 blood donations are needed every day to treat patients in hospitals supplied by Heartland Blood Center. Please help save a life by donating a pint of blood!
To schedule a donation time, please call Call Penny Perdue at 708-534-4105 .
Coordinator: Penny Perdue
Sponsors: The GSU Foundation and the Friends of the University Library
Program 13
Tuesday, May 29
12:15 PM
Library Balcony
Lunchtime Film Festival!
The Vanishing Line (1998)
This film follows physician and filmaker Maren Monsen, and hospice social worker, Jim Brigham, as they visit patients who are making plans concerning their end-of-life care. Dr. Monsen explores how to meet the needs of the dying and their families with the right balance of technology, compassion, and care.
Running Time: 52 minutes
Program 14
Friday, June 1
8:30 AM - 12 Noon
D34115
A Cure For "Lookinginal Thewrongplaces Syndrome"
Today's program will feature the work of Illinois Librarians and the information resources of the National Library of Medicine and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
8:30 AM Registration (free) and coffee
9 - 10:15 MedlinePlus and the National Library of Medicine's Consumer Health Information Program
MedlinePlus is the National Library of Medicine's online library of authoritative and current health and illness information for the public. MedlinePlus includes freely accessible dictionaries, drug information, surgical videos, and patient education tutorials. Visit MedlinePlus online at http:medlineplus.gov.
Presenter: Tammy Mays, Consumer Health Coordinator, National Network of Libraries of Medicine, the University of Illinois Library of the Health Sciences, Chicago.
10:15 - 10:45 AM Farewell to the Exhibit Coffee and Refreshments
Reception Sponsored by the Chicago and South Consortium of Health Science Libraries
10:45 AM - 12 Noon The Health-E Illinois Project
Research indicates that as more Americans come online, more rely on the Internet for important health information. The Pew Internet & American Life Project has documented that over 80 percent of Americans who use Internet, use it for health information. Their research shows that this information influences patient care. Join Illinois librarians from all types of libraries in exploring the impact that libraries are having on making sense of online health information, and how we can all work together to expand access to authoritative health information to all citizens of Illinois. Health-E Illinois, also known as "MedlinePlus Go-Local", is a project to connect the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus information with local health and human service provider information across Illinois.
Presenters: The Health-E Illinois Project Team, Library of the Health Sciences, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University, Chicago. Logan Ludwig, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Project Director, and team members Mary Klatt, Tom Bartenfelder, and Eugene Giudice.
Please contact Paul Blobaum at p-blobaum@govst.edu or 708-534-4139 for more information.
Program 15
Tuesday, June 5
12 Noon - 1 PM and repeated 5 - 6 PM
University Library Balcony
Bring your lunch!
Brown Bag Book Discussion: Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality by Pauline W. Chen (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2007)
Pauline Chen is a surgeon and a former UCLA medical school faculty member. Chen writes lucidly about the healthcare system's struggle with accepting death as a "good" outcome in medical care, and her own struggle to care for dying patients.
Moderator: Paul Blobaum
Program 16
Wednesday, June 6
7 PM
Engbretson Hall
My Search for Verina Morton Jones, M.D. (1857? - 1943)
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morton-Jones is often credited with being the first woman and the first black woman to practice medicine in the state of Mississippi. Dr. Morton-Jones was an active member of the NAACP, and an advocate for women's suffrage. Susan Rishworth's presentation will trace the path of her personal research into this fascinating medical pioneer. Her research is conducted primarily in archival collections of libraries, including a collection of Dr. Morton Jones's correspondence which is located at the Moorland-Spingarn Archives at Howard University, Washington, D.C.
Presenter: Susan Rishworth, MLS, MA, is a resident of the south suburbs, and is an independent scholar. She is currently employed as Archivist at the American College of Surgeons in Chicago.
About the Exhibit
(Photo: Dr. Mary Walker served as a Union Army surgeon in the American Civil War. She was the first woman to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. National Library of Medicine, Images from the History of Medicine B010947.)
The Governors State University (GSU) Library has been selected as one of sixty-one libraries across the nation to host the Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians, a traveling exhibit sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and the American Library Association. The exhibit celebrates the contributions of America’s women physicians, and their struggle for education and recognition since the first woman to be granted a medical degree from an American medical school, Elizabeth Blackwell, graduated from Geneva College in 1848.
The traveling exhibit is based on a major exhibit at the National Library of Medicine during 2003-2004. The traveling exhibit consists of six folding display panels and two interactive computerized kiosks with Internet access. The University Library has acquired books and videos to support the exhibit programs. Brochures, interactive CD-ROM videos, and posters are available to promote and enhance exhibit programs.
The exhibit begins by addressing the struggle women waged in America beginning in the mid 19th century to gain access to medical education after being shut out when medicine became established as a formal profession. Among the first generation to challenge assumptions about women’s intellectual abilities and traditional responsibilities were Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn an M.D. degree in America, and Mary Putnam Jacobi, medical scientist trained in Paris who was the first woman elected to the New York Academy of Medicine.
Women of color also faced financial hardship and racism when building their careers. Among women who went on to make remarkable contributions despite these obstacles is Matilda Evans, the first African American woman to be licensed as a physician in the state of South Carolina. In 1901, she established Columbia, South Carolina’s first black hospital, and her survey of the health of black school children became the basis for a permanent medical examination program in South Carolina public schools.
By the early 20th century, women had made impressive inroads into the medical profession, but they were still discouraged from working in certain specialities and from pursuing scientific research. Women physicians created their own opportunities by founding new specialties and focusing on issues that in the past had received little attention. Alice Hamilton studies the effects of industrial metals and chemicals on the body and advocated for public health protection for workers. Virginia Apgar developed the first standardized way to evaluate a newborn’s condition through ranking five vital signs, and Helen Taussig helped develop an operation to compensate for heart defects in newborns, paving the way for the development of adult open heart surgery.
Women physicians have made breakthrough discoveries that benefit everyone. They have brought new perspectives that are reshaping patient care, medical education, and public health policies. Barbara Barlow worked to make playgrounds in Harlem safe for children. Lori Arviso Alvord, the first Navajo woman to become a board certified surgeon, combines conventional Western medicine with traditional healing practices, and Katherine Flores works to increase the number of Latina women in the profession. Susan Briggs has devoted her "career to medical emergencies in the U.S. and abroad, including the response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
What about the physicians of the future? This exhibition offers role models such as Antonia Novello, the first woman and the first Hispanic Surgeon General of the United States, Catherine DeAngelis, the first woman edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and many more remarkable women physicians, whose lives and achievements may inspire people who view this exhibition to follow in their footsteps through a career in medicine, or to nurture their special talents and contribute to the world in other ways.
Women physicians as well as women in other medical fields have overcome obstacles to become leaders, role models, and mentors for us all. The contributions of women to America's health through their work in medicine, nursing, dentistry, biomedical research, and allied health professions is often overlooked or left untold. The GSU program explores exhibit themes through presentations, book discussions, film presentations and discussions, and displays of ephemera.
For more information on the original exhibition at the National Library of Medicine, go to: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/index.html
At this web site, students can find out if a career in medicine is for them through a guide to medical career Web sites. Teachers can print classroom lesson plans and view an extensive bibliography including books and videos. Online interactive activities use games and learning modules to bring issues of science and medicine to life. Users can perform their own customized database search to learn about the woman physicians featured in the exhibition and learn about their sources of inspiration, the challenges they faced, and their accomplishments. Users can also post their own story about a woman physician they think should be part of the project and read stories that others have submitted.
Women Physicians - Local Legends www.nlm.nih.gov/locallegends
A companion gallery to the Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians exhibition at the National Library of Medicine, in Bethesda, Maryland, Local Legends highlights the contributions of women physicians in rural and urban towns and cities throughout America. Nominated by a Congressional representative, each extraordinary local legend has made a positive, enduring contribution to the health care of their community and our country. New nominations for Local Legends can be made at www.nlm.nih.gov/locallegends/who.html#nominationprocess
Primary Source Materials - Adventure of the American Mind project
Professor Lydia Morrow-Ruetten, Exhibit co-coordinator, has published an Adventure of the American Mind project page related to this exhibit. This project page is a work in progress. Among the primary sources used in her project are a 19th century newspaper article about Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, a picture of Dr. Virginia Apgar, and a copy of a letter written by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell.
Documents
Updated 5/2/2007 by Paul Blobaum p-blobaum@govst.edu.
