Sunday 27 July 2014

Women in Medicine




They say you can tell you are getting old when you see policemen getting younger. You know you must be old when your doctor, who is younger than you, retires.  In our time here the head of our country practice has always been a woman, although we also have a much appreciated and very popular male doctor. My lovely female doctor has retired, another female practitioner has taken her place. Even the most old-fashioned and hidebound countryman now accepts these providers of medical care without turning a hair.

From earliest times, women have nursed the sick and cared for newborns and the elderly in their homes. Childbirth was entirely in the hands of trained midwives; but it was not until the 1900s, and after much struggle, that women won the right to study and practice medicine in the same way as men. Even so, this right is still not granted in all parts of the world.

Women have always been central in providing medical care, whether in the home, nursing or acting as herbalists. However, the medical profession has been male dominated for most of its history. In Europe this came about from the 1400s, when many cities and governments decided that only those trained in universities were allowed to formally practise medicine. As women were not allowed into the universities they could not gain a licence.


In my copy of 'The Portable Medieval Reader' I found The Case Of A Woman Doctor In Paris. (1322)  A certain Jacoba Felicie was prosecuted by the medical faculty of the University of Paris for practicing without their degree of the Chancellor's license. :

“ . . . . in the inquisition made at the instance of the masters in medicine at  Paris against Jacoba Felicie  and others practising the art of medicine and surgery in Paris and the suburbs without the knowledge and authority of the said masters, to the end that they be punished, and that this practice be forbidden them . . . . . “

The Court produced a whole range of indictments, i.a. that Jacoba visited many sick persons, afflicted with grave illnesses, touching, feeling, holding their pulses,  examining body and limbs, and inspecting their urine.  Not only that but she also said to these sick persons:  "I shall make you well, God willing, if you will have faith in me”, making an agreement concerning the cure with them and receiving money for it."

Many witnesses came forward to testify that Jacoba had indeed healed them whereas, although enduring the care of very many expert masters in the art of medicine, they had not been able at all to recover from the illnesses, although the masters applied as much care and diligence to these as they were able. And the said Jacoba, called afterwards, had cured these sick persons in a short time, by an art which is suitable for accomplishing this.

In their wisdom the medical faculty accepted defeat and Jacoba was allowed to continue to cure the sick. It is a pity that it took the medical profession another 600 years to come to the conclusion that women could do more than wipe a fevered brow.



25 comments:

  1. I am AMAZED that Jacoba was allowed to continue. So many women had to work 'underground' for so long.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It still shocks and angers me how women have been kept down all these centuries. And to think that some societies are going back to this.... I like to think I am a tolerant person but this truly appalls and saddens me. Still, I'm glad Jacoba managed to continue. She sounds an incredible person.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well worth remembering! Thank You, Friko



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= . <3 . >< } } (°>

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now that is an appropriate outcome. I truly wonder why women have been subjugated for so long, when the reality is that we are all people, and some are better healers than others. Thank you for this tidbit of good news in a world that seems almost ready to explode, even if it is in the past, it makes me feel better.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Every professional I consult is younger than I! Some look barely out of high school. Many were burned at the stake or otherwise sacrificed for the prejudices of a period. Nowadays we hold different prejudices...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I miss the doctors in my past.
    When the one I had been seeing since age 27
    retired 14 years ago - I cried.
    My new specialist in my home town is a women,
    trained at Mayo Clinic and 59 - so pleased I found someone to connect with.
    I have never gone to a women doctor before.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice story about Jacoba. My doctor is a woman, and my previous doctor was a man who retired, and who I miss, as he used to quote Scripture to me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is the kind of "for no good reason" male dominance that makes me angry. Just like keeping women and girls out of schools. You'd think in these days it wouldn't still be going on, but like you said, in some countries, it does.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nothing makes me madder, as a man, than to see women continually discriminated against. Thankfully it's changing...but there's still a long way to go.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Most inspiring post. I wrote a paper in college on similar material and it was most inspiring today for me to read your post. Unfortunately, in some countries today, the behavior is still the same. Bravo to Jocoba . Most interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  11. To pick up on your first paragraph and age: I am incredulous. There are people out there [in the public eye] who - by their looks and wrinkles I believe to be ancient. They turn out to be ten years younger than me. It's ridiculous. I run to the mirror. Not really. I couldn't give a toss. I leave that to one of my sisters who is currently chasing her twenties like a child with a butterfly net.

    As to doctors you mention, surely it were always women who were the witches with their lotions and potions. To give said sister above her due: She was a wizard. On visiting with my then four year old son I woke her in the middle of the night. He was screaming with the pain of the sudden eruption of an ear ache. She got up, calmly boiled an onion, cooled it slightly, wrapped it into a little bit of muslin and told me to put the compress on his ear. Which I did. Miracle. The onion stank the room out. And it was the last time the Angel ever had an ear infection.

    U

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the info on this. It still continues even with the PA (Physicians Assistant) and the Nurse Practitioner. Although the training is very similar, most guys will follow the PA. It seems to hold more "sway" than the NP. But I'll be the Nurse who goes on for a Masters gives more TLC.

    ReplyDelete
  13. we watched Dr Quinn together as a family earlier this year...all the seasons...and her plight to be accepted....women have a bedside demeanor that many a man does not...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Medicine, and it's history remain a favorite subject for me. Thanks for sharing the story of Jacoba.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fascinating. I never knew about Jacoba. It's a wonderful story -- I'm glad you shared it. As for me, I live in fear of the day my doc retires. He's the best I've ever had and not all that much younger than me... I told him he'd best not go anywhere for a long while... I hope he listened!

    ReplyDelete
  16. The early church had a great deal to do with the demise of women healers. If they refused to convert and submit to a submissive role, they were killed. It hasn't been so long that women were actively discouraged from studying medicine as well as other professions that were considered unsuitable for women. Even when it was illegal to deny women the education necessary, they were loathe to 'waste' the spot in medical school on someone who was just going to get married and get pregnant and quit. Better to fill the spots with men who will go on to practice medicine. My current doctor is a woman although I have only been to her once. I liked my previous doctor who was around my age, maybe older, but not because of his sex but because he would take all the time you needed with him and didn't talk down to you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Takes the medical profession ages to accept any innovation....and any competition is ruthlessly crushed, then as now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. That Portable Medieval Reader is a treasure trove!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fascinating! Of course I've read the lives of the C19th women pioneers in medicine, but Jacoba is completely new to me. A remarkable woman and equally remarkable is the fact the men allowed her to continue practising. I've had excellent female doctors in the past, but my present super GP is young and German. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I am amazed that the panel found her innocent, even with those glowing acclamations! All male panels seem to be embarrassed to admit that a female could do something they could not. I think those days are over, I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  21. She was lucky not to have been accused of witchcraft .
    Meanwhile , we should all just give thanks on bended knee that we live now , rather than then !

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fascinating. Role models like Jacoba should be lauded more frequently.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Bully for her!! That's amazing! She's lucky she wasn't burned as a witch. Suppressing women has been such a popular male practice for eons. Women like her and the people who stood up for her give us hope.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi Friko - interesting read about Jacoba ... I was thankful for the female doctor we had when my mother was dying - not to say I expected her to go: she was one strong lady who wanted to live and we were all surprised when she went ... but the lady doctor was just brilliant - pity we only had her for 36 hours. Still my mother hadn't had a doctor for a year before that ... I hardly visit my doctor now - and as I slowly!! age - I think about my dentist and doctor and their subsequent ageing and retirement ...

    Glad you have a female replacement as your GP ... and so pleased Jacoba wasn't burnt at the stake - a rare piece of luck ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  25. Interesting history of women in medicine. I'm glad they finally opened the doors to some of the best healers ever!

    =)

    ReplyDelete

Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.