Dr Justina Ford
Dr. Justina Laurena Ford became the first African American woman to be licensed as a physician in Colorado in 1902.
Dr. Justina Laurena Ford became the first African American woman to be licensed as a physician in Colorado in 1902.
In 1948, Dr. Margaret Lawrence was the first African American to complete a residency at the New York Psychiatric Institute and the first African American trainee to be certified in psychoanalysis at Columbia University’s Columbia Psycoanalytic Center. In 1953, she was the first practicing child psychiatrist in Rockland County, New York and co-founder of the Rockland County Center for Mental Health in New York.
As a bilingual physician and educator, Dr. Flavia Mercado teaches the value of cultural competency. More than sharing a language, cultural competency requires that physicians are aware of cultural differences and treat all patients respectfully, an ideal Mercado instills in every medical student she teaches.
A practicing obstetrician-gynecologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Frances McLemore Fisk, M.D., considers herself an advocate for the rights of the patient and firmly believes in the importance of viewing health care problems within the wider context of each individual’s circumstances.
In 1987, Frances Owl-Smith M.D., became the second physician and first woman physician of the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
G. Valerie Beckles-Neblett, M.D. organizes medical missions to Haiti and Honduras, two of the poorest countries in the world. Along with the other doctors she recruits for her trips, Dr. Beckles treated thousands of people — many who had never visited a doctor before.
Sue Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, is a physician-scientist who led the development of the first gene-targeted drug for treating breast cancer.
In 2002, she was named co-director of New York’s Hispanic Center of Excellence at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She also has worked to establish a self-sustaining peer-run network aimed at the Hispanic adolescent male, to promote health and prevent disease with community-based support.
In 1975, Dr. Ethel Allen became the first African American councilwoman elected to an at-large seat on the Philadelphia City Council.
Canadian physician, pathologist, museum curator, professor, cardiologist, author, and editor