It Would Be So Nice If You Weren’t Here

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The Doctor Was A Woman: Stories of the First Female Physicians on the Frontier

The difficult trek across the plains and deserts of the frontier, to Rocky Mountain destinations and beyond, was viewed by the first women physicians as just another obstacle to overcome on the way to achieving their goal. They wanted to practice medicine and believed they would have a chance to do that in the mining camps and cow towns in the West. Initial attempts to practice their profession sent shock waves through the deeply patriarchal society.

Doctor Elise Pfeiffer Stone was subjected to a barrage of ridicule and criticism after an article about her practice ran in the March 5, 1888, edition of a Nevada City, California newspaper. “Lady physician – Mrs. E. Stone, who is, we learn, a thoroughly educated and accomplished physician, has established herself in Selby Flat, and offers her services to the ladies of Nevada and vicinity.” A note left on the door of Doctor Stone’s office in response to her advertisement read, “It would be so nice if you weren’t here.”

To learn more about those brave ladies who studied medicine read

The Doctor Was A Woman: Stories of the First Female Physicians on the Frontier