How will these resources help you?

The history curriculum touches briefly on medical history, in the form of big events such as the Black Death. However, the contributions of individuals to day-to-day medicine and nursing are often overlooked, and the impacts of women in this field even more so. Our view of medical history tends to be dominated by the ‘great men’ of medicine, such as Pasteur, Lister and Jenner, but investigating other figures can give us not only insights into how medicine has changed but also the struggles of individuals to contribute and to be recognised in this traditionally male-dominated field. 

Women have always been involved in medicine and healing, from the ancient world through to the present day. However, once doctors were required to qualify at university, women were excluded from the profession because they were not allowed to attend. It was not until the late 19th century that women could qualify, and they did not do so in great numbers until the 1970s.