After postgraduate study at Dublin University, around 1908 she commenced general practice in Picton.
There Paterson demonstrated her ability to command affection as well as respect from a wide range of individuals. A farewell social held for her in 1912 was ‘one of the most largely-attended and enthusiastic gatherings ever held in Picton’.
In 1909 or thereabouts the Pilgrims went to live in Palmerston North, where Ada Pilgrim was listed in directories as a ‘specialist’; then, some five years later, they moved to Auckland. She bought a handsome villa on Khyber Pass Road to which a constant stream of people came for treatment. Ada Pilgrim’s method of healing was a form of physiotherapy before that term was in general use. She was able to relieve complaints such as tic douloureux which were resistant to conventional treatment. Many of her patients were sent by medical practitioners, whose respect she had quickly gained. She continued to work as a healer after her husband’s death in 1926 and was practising well into her 80s. She believed that she had a gift, a kind of energy, which it was her duty to use. She was adept not only at relieving pain but also at giving reassurance and reconciling patients to that which could not be cured.
In 1886 Adelaide Hicks moved to Factory Road, Mosgiel. There she opened a maternity home, which became the first registered in the area. Adelaide became known as ‘Nurse Hicks’, and although she possessed no formal nursing training was regularly called on in times of medical and social crisis. Her midwifery took her into the small local community and out into the district, where she attended confinements.
‘Send for Granny Harrold’ was the cry when basic first aid was not enough. Where boat transport was impracticable she walked, sometimes many miles, treated the patient, returned home to sleep and went back to the patient next day. She did not fuss, was efficient, and inspired confidence. Her hands were ‘strong as a man’s’, and she was comforting in times of trouble. ‘He just slipt awa’ like a knotless thread’, she would say when death at last came, often from tuberculosis; or ‘The poor bairn – he’s easy now’, when a baby died.
With extra tuition from family friends in chemistry and Latin she matriculated in 1894 and entered the University of Otago to study medicine. In 1900 she graduated with three other women: Constance Frost and Jane Kinder (who took up residents’ positions at Adelaide Hospital), and Daisy Platts (who registered and set up practice in Wellington). Only two other women had obtained degrees in medicine in New Zealand before this time: Emily Siedeberg and Margaret Cruickshank.
Agnodice is believed to be the first female midwife or physician in ancient Athens.
Physician, reformer and activist Cecilia Grierson was the first woman to receive a medical degree in Argentina.
Dr. Hawa Abdi Dhiblawe was a Somali human rights activist and Somalia’s first female obstetrician and gynecologist. She was the founder and chairperson of the non-profit Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation (DHAF), which provides healthcare, education, shelter and access to sanitation to displaced families.
Doctor, community leader
Often called “the Lady with the Lamp,” Florence Nightingale was a caring nurse and a leader. In addition to writing over 150 books, pamphlets and reports on health-related issues, she is also credited with creating one of the first versions of the pie chart. However, she is mostly known for making hospitals a cleaner and safer place to be.