Journal of the American Medical Women's Association (1972)
-
J Am Med Womens Assoc · Jan 1997
Women in US medicine: the comparative roles of graduates of US and foreign medical schools.
The feminization of US medicine has occurred historically through two separate phenomena: the increase in the number of female graduates of US medical schools and the in-migration of female graduates of foreign medical schools. Reported here are the findings regarding gender on specialty choice, employment setting, and specialty board certification of 55,031 and 191,723 graduates of foreign medical schools and US medical schools, respectively. ⋯ Foreign-national IMG women were especially overrepresented in pathology, radiology, and anesthesiology, and in certain employment settings such as public hospitals and the Veterans Administration. The findings provide a basis for further study of the causes and consequences of the observed differences.
-
In May 1997, President Bill Clinton apologized for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The President's action underscores that in the 25 years since its public revelation, the study has moved from a singular historical event to a powerful metaphor that symbolizes racism in medicine, misconduct in human research, the arrogance of physicians, and government abuse of black people. ⋯ In addition, African-American women may be more reluctant to participate in clinical trials because of the shadow cast by the syphilis study and other incidents of medical abuse. Finally, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study reminds us that the battle against racism must be an integral part of the campaign to improve women's health.
-
The use of rape as a tool of persecution is not new, but recognition of the political rape of women as a violation of internationally protected human rights and as a basis for political asylum is. Over the last several years, a number of advances have been made, including human rights instruments that recognize the need to protect women from rape and other sexual abuse; guidelines from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and several countries that acknowledge the political nature of rape and the difficulties experienced by women attempting to assert claims to asylum based on rape or other sexual abuse; and a number of important decisions by individual governments to provide protection to survivors of rape. Legal advancements for women in this area have depended largely on the assistance of medical and psychological experts who have been able to educate adjudicators and advocates on the effects of sexual harm, provide expert testimony in individual asylum cases, and provide critical treatment and support to survivors as they work their way through the process of obtaining legal protection.