On the recordDecember 1, 2015
I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 100th anniversary of the American Medical Women's Association, AMWA, the first national organization of women physicians. One hundred years ago, less than 6 percent of all physicians in the United States were women. Recognizing a crucial need to provide support for these pioneering women and to bring diversity to the medical field, Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen founded the AMWA on November 18, 1915, in Chicago. The AMWA quickly established a network and support system for women in the medical profession and documented their lack of opportunities in postgraduate training, internships, and academic appointments. Over the years, the AMWA successfully advocated to increase leadership roles for women doctors, sponsored research and panel discussions on medical women in the workforce, and established scholarship and mentorship programs to encourage the next generation of women leaders. The AMWA has also worked to improve women's health by addressing issues from human trafficking and affordable contraceptive care, to childhood obesity and osteoporosis risk across the globe. For the past century, the American Medical Women's Association has served as the vision and voice of women in medicine. As we celebrate their extraordinary milestone, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the AMWA for their tireless efforts to open the door for generations of women physicians.…
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