Women And Medicine Essay, Research Paper
a)???????? Whilst women
weren?t trained in medicine during this time period, their traditional roles as healers and
midwives were still important ones but women only ever performed them. These
roles were mere extensions of their status as housewives as can be seen by the
way the performed such tasks. Women would use their knowledge of herbs to
concoct remedies for the sick and they would record them in recipe books to be
handed down to their children. They would also hand down certain recipes by
word of mouth. Source A supports this in that it shows a lay Sister preparing a
remedy in just such a way. ??????????? With the
advent of a more medicine-aware society, the role of healer shifted into the
hands of merchants and businessman. New drugs coming in from foreign lands,
such as the New World, were handled by these very people and were not available
to women. Source B shows that when it says: ?New and
expensive cures were developed?using the drugs imported?as a result?of trade
between Europe and India, China and the New World?These drugs were handled by
merchants and businessmen, surgeons and apothecaries. They were not easily
available for women to use.?They were obtained by men, handled by men, and sold to men.
The traditional medicine-woman was left with her herbs, which were far less
successful than the new drugs now available on the market. ??????????? It was not
long before women were forced out of their other traditional role, professional
midwifery. In 1620 Peter Chamberlain invented the forceps and put the role of
the midwife firmly in the hands of trained physicians due to the necessity of
some knowledge of anatomy. Naturally, poorer women had no choice to make use of
the services of women midwives but richer women went to the professionals. Of
course, women were banned from studying anatomy due to the fact that no
universities would accept a female student.??????????? The second
significant change was the change in medical theory that happened during this
time period. Since Roman times Galen had always been the foremost authority on
anatomical theory. Nobody had questioned his theories; the Church had forbidden
any challenges to Galen?s work because his theories fitted in with the Church?s
belief in a system ordained by nature. Furthermore, they did not allow
dissections of human beings (the very reason why Galen?s theories were
incorrect) so it was virtually impossible to provide proof that Galen?s
theories were wrong. ??????????? However,
times were changing, as was the Church. They no longer stipulated that no
dissections were allowed of human beings. This opened the door for physicians
such as Versalius, as can be seen in source B:?New ideas about medicine were developed by scholars in
the universities during the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution. These new
ideas were based on the close observation and dissection of the human body.?Vesalius did not set out to disprove Galen; in fact he had
great respect for the man. It took him 12 years to openly admit that Galen was
incorrect in his second edition of his book, ?The Fabric of the Human Body.?
However, the fact remained that he did prove him to be wrong and this changed
dramatically the way people thought about anatomy. This paved the way to cures
that were carefully based on the inner workings of the human body and these
ultimately turned out to be much more successful than the guess work based on
flawed theories that had been the practice for so many years.In conclusion, whilst the first change, the changes in the
roles assumed by women, is still an important part of medical history in this
time period, it didn?t change the use of medicine to better society in a
significant way. The increased interest in the study of anatomy, and the
rewriting of major medical theories, made a drastic change to the remedies used
to treat patients. The study of anatomy was the first step towards the modern
medicine in use today and it kick-started the field of medicine, a field that
had been held previously by amateurs. It was now in the hands of professionals
who ensured that it was developed sufficiently to help other people.b) i)????? William Harvey, an English physician,
pioneered the theory of circulation of the blood. The way the blood
travelled through the body had always baffled researchers
but now Harvey had discovered exactly how it worked. He discovered that blood
circulated the body and was not used up like Galen had theorised previously.
Furthermore, he said that it was pumped round by the heart, not the liver, and it only
moved in one direction. In his book he included numerous diagrams of experiments
that he had performed to prove his theory. One such experiment was one that proved
with no doubt that there were valves in arteries to stop it flowing backwards.
This experiment could be performed by everyone and it was an excellent way of proving
his theories. His other stipulation, that blood was not used up, finally paved the way
to the practice of bloodletting being abandoned. Whilst Harvey?s discovery of the
circulatory system was the result of not only his work but that of Vesalius and others, it was he who
proved all of the theories, brought them all together and, more importantly,
provided the final answer. His work still remains to true to this day and this
makes his contribution to modern medicine one of the greatest.?? ii)????? Perhaps
one of the most important inventions of the Renaissance was the printing press. For the first
time, books could be published quickly and effortlessly, making the age-old practice of laboriously
copying out a book by hand obsolete. This meant that medical pioneers such as
Harvey and Vesalius could have their works published in mass to allow students
to learn from their theories much more easily. ??????????? The
Renaissance also brought a new sense of excitement at the prospect of
travelling. Voyages of discovery brought back exotic new drugs and remedies
that the new field of medicine could make use of. ??????????? Most
important to Harvey was the fascination in highly detailed portrayal of people
and objects in art. This meant that physicians such as Harvey could employ an
artist who could record exactly their experiments with highly detailed diagrams
and sculptures. This greatly aided the sharing of ideas and theories such as
Harvey?s and it ensured that they were understood and supported by others.??????????? As
mentioned above, the printing press played an important part in Harvey?s
success and the printing press was also partly due to the Scientific Revolution
that was happening at the same time. This also ensured that dissections could
be performed to prove his theories and widen his knowledge and the knowledge of
other physicians. Lastly, it meant that he could use experiments as mentioned
above so that people could check his theories and see for themselves that he
was correct. These experiments were often influenced by modern technology, such
as the water pump.??????????? Harvey was
influenced enough by the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution to give him
the perseverance necessary to put his theories forward and show to people that
they were correct. The continuing interest and excitement in medicine also
ensured that he was motivated to continue his studies to better his field.c) i)????? The attitude of society, and particularly
Elizabeth Garrett?s father, towards women doctors at the time was one of
contempt. People felt that women had neither the
intelligence nor the composure to act as good doctors so they went to all lengths to
ensure that they weren?t allowed to become them. ??????????? Elizabeth
Garrett was not the first woman to become a doctor. Elizabeth Blackwell, who
was trained in America, was the truly first woman doctor. Garrett met her in
1859 and was inspired to further her cause. Garrett?s father thought the idea
was disgusting, although he did come round to the idea eventually, and this
only served to spur her on even more. She made her cause much more public and
felt as though she was acting for all women, which can be seen when she says:?I think my work is plain: to go on acting as pioneer to
achieve this. Even though by doing so I spend the best years of my life because
other students will reap the benefit.?In this way she could well be thought of as a pioneer. ??????????? She had the
necessary intelligence to become a doctor but she needed to be accepted by
either the College of Physicians, the College of Surgeons or the Society of
Apothecaries. Both colleges had strict rules stating that they did not accept
any women. However the society?s rules were much more vague and after an
arduous legal battle it was forced to accept her. Unfortunately for other
women, they changed their rules immediately to ensure that no other women could
follow in her footsteps. In 1870 she became a Doctor of medicine. ??????????? The excuses
used against her becoming a doctor were primarily that medicine was a man?s
world and a man?s career, and that the language used in lectures was crude and
therefore unacceptable for women. The fact that this attitude remained at the
time of her protests proved that, despite her not being the first women doctor,
medicine was not yet ready for women doctors. However, she succeeded against
the odds and in the process advertised her cause to the world. This makes her a
true pioneer.ii)????? Elizabeth Garrett felt it was necessary to
?exercise
tact and show womanliness of manner?
because she was entering into a man?s world and the majority of men were opposed to women doctors. She needed desperately to
show intelligent, thoughtful and, above all, tactful answers. She needed to
show that there was no reason to disallow women to become doctors. Most
importantly, she had to dash claims that she was just a man in women?s shoes by showing
that she could be a woman as well as a doctor, hence her saying, ?show
womanliness of manner?. ??????????? She
realised that time would be needed before change could occur. That is not to
say that she gave up the struggle for equality, she merely tackled the issues
in front of her with tact and in a careful manner. Furthermore, she knew that
it was important that she proved her critics wrong. In order to win people over
she had to prove that women were biologically, psychologically and socially fit
to become doctors.d)???????? In 1914
people thought that the war would be short and the attitude from society
remained unchanged. There were very few women doctors and the general attitude
of men towards women with aspirations in medicine was to ??go
and sit quietly at home?!? However, there were some women doctors
but unfortunately, this attitude still hindered their efforts. As Source D
states:?In 1914?a group led by Dr Elsie Inglis tried to
volunteer. Even though they had raised enough money to set up a field hospital
(a hospital for soldiers near the battlefields of Northern France). They were
told to ?go and sit quietly at home??Needless to say, as the war
continued the country needed more trained doctors. Conscription took most
trained physicians into the field leaving few doctors left back home to
practice for the remaining population. Women were already heavily involved in
nursing ? in fact many nurses were women. Whilst the British Red Cross remained
reluctant to send women doctors into the field, the French Red Cross was much
less so and sent many to practice medicine in Serbia. It must be remembered that it
took, and still does take, 5 to 6 years to qualify as a doctor so it was
important to start training women interested in medicine. More hospitals began
to accept women training to be doctors and so did University College London. ??????????? In
conclusion, the main factor that brought about the change was the severe lack
of trained doctors in Britain, due to the war, but a shift in attitude to
women?s equality also played a small part.e)???????? There is no
doubt that Elizabeth Garrett Anderson played a very important role in the cause
to allow women to train as doctors. Despite not being the first woman to become
a doctor, she was the first to publicise her campaign and the first to get
people to realise that there was no good reason to disallow women from training
as doctors. She knew her cause and was determined to achieve her aim, as she
says herself in Source C: ?I think my work is plain: to go on
acting as pioneer to achieve this.? In this way she could certainly be
called a pioneer. ??????????? World War
I, on the other hand, allowed other women to practice medicine due to the
unexpected length of the war, the number of wounded and the lack of doctors due
to conscription. Conscription also drove down the number of men training as
doctors, particularly after 1916. Around this time there was also a drastic
change in attitudes towards women, particularly in medicine. People were used
to women treating them, mainly due to the war. For two years (and to a lesser
extent the first three years) the doctors and nurses treating the sick and
injured were almost all women. Another reason for the change in attitudes
towards women was the two women?s suffrage organisations that were protesting
around this time. The most well known of these are the suffragettes who began
their famous, more violent, protests in 1910. People were coming to terms with
the fact that women are equal to men.??????????? In
conclusion, I think that the most important influence in the development of
medical training was World War I. Whilst Garrett?s triumphs opened people?s
mind to the prospect of women doctors, it did little to ensure that women were
allowed to actually train to become them. Immediately after she qualified, the
Society of Apothecaries altered its rules to ensure that no woman could join
again. It was World War I that opened the doors of medicine to women. Britain
was forced to admit that it needed women as physicians. Women were returned to
their role as healers, a role that they had held for centuries previously, but
this time as equals. It was only due to the depleting supply of doctors that
universities were forced to admit women to ensure that there were still people
back home who could treat the sick and the wounded. This rise can be seen from
Source E. You can see a massive rise between 1919 and 1920. Considering that it
takes 5 to 6 years to quality to become a doctor, these women must have began
training in around 1914 ? the beginning of World War I.(Words:
2469)
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