A study of women doctors : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

Abstract

This study includes a brief look at the history of women doctors and personal interviews I conducted with some area female physicians. During the interviews my focus was on stereotypes the doctors had personally encountered. Based on those interviews I drew some conclusions about the state of prejudices women doctors face today. The brief history includes general information plus some more specific information about the History of IU Medical School since that is where most of the physicians I interviewed obtained their degree.In the interviews I was primarily interested in the time period that was spent in medical school. I also wanted to know how the woman's family felt about her career choice. How patients reacted to a woman doctor was also an interest. Some of the questions asked included: name, age, married or not, age and experience when they made their career choice, differences between father's, mother's, brother's, sister's and husband's reactions, experiences with prejudices in medical school, and how patients react to a woman doctor.The doctors I interviewed cover a wide range of specialties. These include: a dermatologist, an ophthalmologist, a pathologist, an allergist, an optometrist, and an emergency medicine physician. I interviewed Jocelyn Smith OD, optometrist, as a contrast to the other doctors. Her interview was interesting in the differences and similarities it showed to the physicians and because along with dentistry it is an option that many women choose -who had always wanted to go to medical school but felt they could not for some reason. The study ends with a conclusion and personal comments.