The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania
March 01, 2013
by Nancy Ryerson, Staff Writer
Though the first medical school in the United States was opened in 1785, it wasn’t until March 11, 1850 that the world’s first medical school for women was established. Called the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia school opened its doors to its first class in October of that year to 40 students and only six faculty members.
In the beginning, the college received little support from the male physician world. Fifteen years earlier, Elizabeth Blackwell had become the first woman in the U.S. to graduate from medical school, but women were still largely viewed as being too weak to handle the stress of practicing medicine. However, the college did have some male supporters, including the handful of prominent Quakers who helped found the college.
Eight women made up the college’s first graduating class in 1851. Joseph S. Longshore, one of the college’s founders and a professor of obstetrics, told the eight women that “this day forms an eventful epoch in the history of your lives, in the history of woman, in the history of the race.” His sister-in-law was one of that year’s graduates.
Once out of school, the graduates continued to face difficulty in becoming accepted members of the medical community. Pennsylvania medical societies refused admission to women from the school and even barred members from seeing female physicians. The women fought back in 1875 when they founded the Alumnae Association of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, a group that had 300 members by 1895. Just a year after the founding of the Alumnae Association, the American Medical Association accepted its first female member.
More troubling than exclusion from medical societies was the challenge of receiving hands-on medical experience during school. Women were prevented from treating patients or attending lectures at area hospitals. In response, in 1861, a group of Quaker women founded the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Its purpose was to treat women while giving students at the women’s college a chance to practice and learn surgical techniques. The first resident physician, Emeline Horton Cleveland, became one of the first women to perform gynecologic procedures in the United States.
Twelve patients occupied beds at the Woman’s Hospital in 1862. By 1875, the hospital had 37 beds, treated 2,000 patients at their homes and cared for 3,000 visitors at its dispensary. The hospital allowed patients of any race or religion, but there was one group that the otherwise progressive hospital did not typically allow: unwed mothers. Meeting notes from the time suggest that some doctors were opposed to that restriction.
By 1867, the college’s name had been changed to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. In 1891, the Women’s Medical College became one of the first American medical schools to adopt a 4-year medical school. Also in that decade, alumnae founded a clinic to offer free care to poor women and children. It also gave students another place to practice and learn.
Elsewhere in the country, hospitals and universities were slow to admit female students. By 1893, 37 out of 105 medical schools in the United States accepted women. Soon after, more women’s medical schools opened in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Chicago. In 1890, the U.S. census counted 4,500 female physicians. By 1900, that number had risen to more than 7,300.
The college and hospital continued to grow and expand into the 20th century, adding additional buildings in the 1920s, but its good fortune did not last forever. It experienced financial difficulties in the 1960s and began admitting men in 1969, becoming the Medical College of Pennsylvania. It continued to suffer financial problems for the next several decades, merging with Hahnemann Medical College in 1993. In 2003, the college was absorbed as part of the Drexel University College of Medicine.
Today, women make up around half of all medical students. In 2010, 16,838 medical degrees were awarded in the U.S. to women, 48.3 percent of all medical degrees and an increase from 26.8 percent in 1982. All of which is a far cry from the class of 1851’s group of eight.
In the beginning, the college received little support from the male physician world. Fifteen years earlier, Elizabeth Blackwell had become the first woman in the U.S. to graduate from medical school, but women were still largely viewed as being too weak to handle the stress of practicing medicine. However, the college did have some male supporters, including the handful of prominent Quakers who helped found the college.
Eight women made up the college’s first graduating class in 1851. Joseph S. Longshore, one of the college’s founders and a professor of obstetrics, told the eight women that “this day forms an eventful epoch in the history of your lives, in the history of woman, in the history of the race.” His sister-in-law was one of that year’s graduates.
Once out of school, the graduates continued to face difficulty in becoming accepted members of the medical community. Pennsylvania medical societies refused admission to women from the school and even barred members from seeing female physicians. The women fought back in 1875 when they founded the Alumnae Association of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, a group that had 300 members by 1895. Just a year after the founding of the Alumnae Association, the American Medical Association accepted its first female member.
More troubling than exclusion from medical societies was the challenge of receiving hands-on medical experience during school. Women were prevented from treating patients or attending lectures at area hospitals. In response, in 1861, a group of Quaker women founded the Woman’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Its purpose was to treat women while giving students at the women’s college a chance to practice and learn surgical techniques. The first resident physician, Emeline Horton Cleveland, became one of the first women to perform gynecologic procedures in the United States.
Twelve patients occupied beds at the Woman’s Hospital in 1862. By 1875, the hospital had 37 beds, treated 2,000 patients at their homes and cared for 3,000 visitors at its dispensary. The hospital allowed patients of any race or religion, but there was one group that the otherwise progressive hospital did not typically allow: unwed mothers. Meeting notes from the time suggest that some doctors were opposed to that restriction.
By 1867, the college’s name had been changed to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. In 1891, the Women’s Medical College became one of the first American medical schools to adopt a 4-year medical school. Also in that decade, alumnae founded a clinic to offer free care to poor women and children. It also gave students another place to practice and learn.
Elsewhere in the country, hospitals and universities were slow to admit female students. By 1893, 37 out of 105 medical schools in the United States accepted women. Soon after, more women’s medical schools opened in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Chicago. In 1890, the U.S. census counted 4,500 female physicians. By 1900, that number had risen to more than 7,300.
The college and hospital continued to grow and expand into the 20th century, adding additional buildings in the 1920s, but its good fortune did not last forever. It experienced financial difficulties in the 1960s and began admitting men in 1969, becoming the Medical College of Pennsylvania. It continued to suffer financial problems for the next several decades, merging with Hahnemann Medical College in 1993. In 2003, the college was absorbed as part of the Drexel University College of Medicine.
Today, women make up around half of all medical students. In 2010, 16,838 medical degrees were awarded in the U.S. to women, 48.3 percent of all medical degrees and an increase from 26.8 percent in 1982. All of which is a far cry from the class of 1851’s group of eight.