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The Doctor Was a Woman: Stories of the First Female Physicians on the Frontier
The Doctor Was a Woman: Stories of the First Female Physicians on the Frontier is a women’s history that profiles ten selected female doctors who made their marks and helped patients in the days of the Wild West.
From Wyoming and Nevada to California, these women did more than treat gunshot wounds. They fought lung disease, pioneered dental techniques, often became the first women to practice medicine in their areas, and overcame much male resistance to the notion to achieve their goals.
Chris Enss outlines history in a reasoned manner, presenting instances where women were as prejudiced about the notion of female physicians as their male counterparts:
“Lillian had difficulties with female patients too. One elderly woman in town frequently asked Dr. Heath to make house calls but had no intention of paying her. The woman was a minister’s wife, and Lillian felt her behavior should have been better than the average person’s. She only responded to the woman’s calls for help a handful of times. Eventually, she refused to continue seeing her because the minister’s wife refused to compensate her for her services because she was a woman doctor.”
Thus, personal biographical sketches weave into community and Western history in a manner that represents all the perceptions, reactions, and influences on female physicians of the times.
Enss also includes footnoted references to source materials and notes to document this background, including a 1921 tuberculosis symptoms public health report and how women such as Dr. Sofie Herzog (who was employed by the railroad to treat its workers and patrons) made names for themselves against all odds. Black and white vintage photos pepper the story, bringing these people and times to life.
The Doctor Was a Woman reads with the drama of fiction and the authority of well-researched nonfiction. It is highly recommended for women’s history collections, American history holdings, libraries attractive to medical students and researchers, and general-interest audiences alike. Its powerful stories are sterling examples of early women who succeeded, yet are rarely mentioned in the chronicles of medical or American history.
In the aforementioned Sophie Herzog’s case:
“Although Sofie was employed with the railroad, she continued to maintain her own practice. Not only did she treat those suffering with everything from deep cuts to pneumonia, but she was also intent on finding cures for more serious ailments such as smallpox.”
To learn more about the first female physicians on the frontier read
The Doctor Was a Woman
Midwest Book Review
