The New York Medical College and Hospital for Women has a rich and unique history dating back to the mid-19th century. Moreover, the history of this institution is very closely intertwined with the history of women’s health care in the United States. Read more at i-new-york.com.
Where did it all start?
The healthcare institution was founded in 1863. The United States was in the active phase of the Civil War at the time. Besides that, there was gender discrimination in the mid-19th century on United States soil. Women were not allowed into universities and were not granted the right to vote or the opportunity to get a good job. However, there was also a tendency in those days for the city to need women physicians. They were primarily needed to care for female patients. For this reason, a medical school for women was established in New York City.
The medical school for women, founded in 1863, was the second educational institution in the United States. In its early years, the Medical College for Women tried to gain support from other medical institutions in the city, as well as from male physicians. But many male physicians in those early days, in addition to various medical institutions, which were also run exclusively by men, considered female physicians unworthy of the profession. In particular, they believed that women were not suitable for the rigors of medical practice. Nevertheless, the women physicians of the city’s Medical College for Women have consistently proved otherwise. They showed perseverance, worked tirelessly and proved their competence and extensive knowledge of medicine. As a result, physicians from the New York women’s college, though not in an easy way, still managed to win the respect of their male colleagues.
Throughout the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, immense numbers of talented and successful female physicians emerged from the medical institution for women. Each of them found their place and gained respect in the medical society among men.
Development of the Medical College for Women
A grand event in the history of the New York Medical College for Women occurred in 1918. At that time, the trustees, in consultation with the President of the Board, deemed it advisable to close the college. The students were transferred to the New York Homeopathic Medical College and Fifth Avenue Hospital.
There, in the early 20th century, they continued to provide medical education and medical services for women only. The institution has become an exceptional leader in women’s health care in the United States.
Over the years of its operation, the medical institution for women has expanded its curriculum significantly. In particular, in the 20th century, the curriculum included such specialties:
- Nursing
- Obstetrics
- A range of specialized medical services for women.
However, despite its many accomplishments, the medical institution for women has faced constant challenges throughout its history, with limited funding and struggles for recognition and acceptance in the medical society.
In the mid-20th century, this institution became the true Medical Center for Women in New York City. For years, it has played one of the most crucial roles in protecting women’s health and reproductive rights.
The New York institution for women has overcome many challenges over the decades. This institution has lived, developed and prospered through courageous, talented and persistent women physicians. In their time, these women did not back down from their convictions. They proved to the men’s medical society in New York that absolutely every woman is worthy of the medical profession and that they are no worse than male doctors.