Dr. Ann Preston, a pioneering female physician, played a crucial role in advancing women’s medical education in the United States, writes Jennifer Green for County Lines Magazine.
Preston was born in West Grove in 1813 to a Quaker family who were active in the Underground Railroad.
Preston dedicated her life to breaking barriers in medicine. She graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1851, becoming one of the first women to earn a medical degree. Just two years later, she was appointed the first female professor in a regular medical college, teaching physiology at the same place where she earned her degree.
Preston strongly believed in hands-on medical training, which was considered a revolutionary idea at the time. While trying to put that idea to fruit with clinical demonstrating, she was denied by Pennsylvania Hospital. So, she spearheaded the Medical College’s own hospital to ensure more female students could gain practical experience.
Later, she made history as the first female dean of a degree-granting medical college when offered the position by her alma mater.
She continued to advocate for women’s rights in medicine until her death in 1872, leaving behind a legacy that paved the way for future generations of female physicians.
Read more about Dr. Ann Preston and her impact on medical education for women at County Lines Magazine.
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