The prevailing view was still that women were unsuited for the profession of medicine. Among the pioneers was Harriet Hunt, the first woman physician in early 19th-century America. She represented the initial group of women physicians who, like her, trained in irregular apprenticeships and were largely ignored by the medical establishment. Increasing numbers of women were admitted to medical schools during the mid-1800s. During the 1970s, the rise of the feminist movement and affirmative action created an atmosphere more conducive to women becoming physicians.
Female physicians lag in income and are underrepresented in research and leadership positions.
Concerns that women lack the physical and mental capabilities to practice medicine continue to be raised. As we enter the third millennium, women have made spectacular advances. The roles of women in medicine have ranged from healers with skills derived from deities, to respected colleagues, to alleged witches, to intruders into the male medical establishment, to respected peers once again. Alternately aided and hindered by education and by opportunities to practice, women have persisted throughout time and shifting social, religious, and scientific ideologies to make strides in medicine. A History of Women in Medicine From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century .