February 3rd is celebrated as National Women Physicians Day. This day marks the birthday of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States in 1849. The day is celebrated in recognition of female doctors who have served the society ever since the path was paved in 1849.1
This day celebrates Dr. Blackwell’s accomplishments and her efforts to ensure that women get equal rights in the field of medicine. National Women Physicians Day recognizes female physicians across the country and encourages improvement in the workplace and education to encourage women to enter the field of medicine.
The day was founded by the Physician Moms Group and Medelita who strived to raise awareness of the contributions of women doctors in the health care sector and encourage more and more young girls to take up medicine as a profession. The day was recognized by the national calendar registrar in 2017 and this year marks the fourth year of its celebration.
A study conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation in 2019 showed that there are 359,409 actively practicing female physicians in the US 2, while another study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)3 indicated that women physicians on average earn 8% less than their male counterparts. This clearly shows there is more work to be done on this path.
On the other hand, an interesting study conducted by JAMA4 showed that patients treated by female physicians had significantly lower mortality rates compared with those cared for by male physicians within the same hospital. This shows that women have always been healers, as mothers, grandmothers, and nurses, yet women are not provided with the same privilege in medicine as a profession.5
EMMA International being a proud women-owned business applauds all Women Physicians in the US and around the world in honor of this day and supports them in their journey to protect public health. On this special day, if your health care provider is a woman be sure to thank them for their service to you and celebrate their achievements.
EMMA International, a proud women-owned business, protects public health by assisting companies in life sciences bring their innovative products to market. Call us today at +1 248-987-4497 or email us at info@emmainternational.com
1National Day Calendar- NATIONAL WOMEN PHYSICIANS DAY retrieved on 01/31/2021 from https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-women-physicians-day-february-3/
2Becker’s Hospital Review(Feb 2020) Gender ratio of physicians across 50 states retrieved on 1/31/2021 from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/gender-ratio-of-physicians-across-50-states.html
3JAMA (Sept 2016) Sex Differences in Physician Salary in US Public Medical Schools retrieved on 01/31/2021 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2532788
4JAMA (Feb 2017) Comparison of Hospital Mortality and Readmission Rates for Medicare Patients Treated by Male vs Female Physicians retrieved on 01/31/2021 from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2593255
5UW-Madison (Feb 2020) FEB. 3RD IS NATIONAL WOMEN PHYSICIANS DAY retrieved on 01/31/2021 from https://www.emed.wisc.edu/news/feb-3rd-national-women-physicians-day
