Feminism
31 Reasons to “Like” Nursing Clio on Facebook

31 Reasons to “Like” Nursing Clio on Facebook

Did you know that Nursing Clio has an awesome Facebook page? Well we do! Even more exciting (and we know you are excited), in honor of Women’s History Month, Nursing Clio will be honoring a different woman everyday during the month of March on our Facebook page. These women, both sung and unsung, have all made significant impacts, not only in the field of medicine, but in the times and places in which they lived, loved, and worked. Here is what you may have missed so far:

Day 1: Elizabeth Blackwell 

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell  was the first woman in America to receive and M.D. degree. Blackwell graduated from New York’s Geneva Medical College in 1849. She supported medical education for women and and established the New York Infirmary in 1857, a place for female physicians to serve as interns and gain practical medical experience. She also published several books on women in medicine, including Medicine as a Profession for Women (1860) and Address on the Medical Education of Women (1864).

Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D.
Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D.

Day 2: Jesusita Aragón

Jesusita Aragón became a partera, or midwife, at age 14 in Trujillo, New Mexico. She was born in 1908 and by 1980 she had delivered more than 12,000 babies. She also became the first in her family to attend school and learn English. Her bilingual skills led her to become the town’s interpreter.

Jesusita Aragón
Jesusita Aragón

Day 3: Dame Cicely Saunders

Dame Cicely Saunders founded the first modern hospice in 1967 and started a worldwide movement to provide compassionate care for the dying. A nurse, social worker and doctor, she established new methods of pain control and holistic approach to care giving. Her work led to the development of a new medical specialty, palliative care, and the contemporary hospice.

Dame Cicely Saunders
Dame Cicely Saunders

Who will we feature tomorrow? Head on over to our Facebook page and check it out. And if you have any suggestions for women we should honor this month, let us know in the comments section!

Jacqueline Antonovich is the creator and co-founder of Nursing Clio and served as executive editor from 2012 to 2021. She is an Assistant Professor of History at Muhlenberg College. Her current research focuses on women physicians, race, gender, and medical imperialism in the American West. Jacqueline received her PhD from the University of Michigan in 2018.