7 Women Who Changed Medicine Forever

Medicine hasn’t always been a level playing field—for patients or doctors. For centuries, women faced barriers just for studying, practicing, or researching medicine. Yet a handful of trailblazers broke through discrimination to reshape healthcare, simultaneously forwarding feminism in the United States. From Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a U.S. medical degree, to Susan La Flesche Picotte, the first Native American woman physician, these trailblazers didn’t just treat patients; they transformed the profession itself.

Some became household names; others healed, hidden from history, but all paved the way for the diverse, dynamic field of medicine we see today. Keep reading to meet seven pioneering female physicians, professors, and public health advocates whose impact is impossible to ignore today.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Throughout history, many women have had to disguise themselves as men to pursue certain professions, from fighting wars to writing novels. Elizabeth Blackwell, who began her journey into medicine after a sick friend expressed a wish for a female doctor, wasn’t one of them. After facing numerous rejections—and even being advised by a professor to apply to medical school as a man—Blackwell remained determined to carve out her own path. In 1849, she graduated from Geneva Medical College as the first woman in the U.S. to earn an MD. In 1857, she opened an infirmary in New York for underprivileged women and children, providing care while also helping female physicians find opportunities in a field that often excluded them. Later in her career, Blackwell helped establish a medical college in New York before moving to London, where she became a professor of gynecology, co-founded the National Health Society, and wrote several books, including her 1895 autobiography.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Today, doctors come from all walks of life, and one person to thank for that diversity is Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a medical degree, graduating from the New England Female Medical College in 1864. Inspired by watching her aunt care for her community, Crumpler spent years assisting doctors before pursuing her own education. After graduation, she devoted herself to treating formerly enslaved people in Richmond, Virginia, and later returned to Boston, caring for patients despite systemic obstacles such as limited hospital access and difficulties filling prescriptions. In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses, the first medical book by an African American, providing practical guidance on caring for women and children and paving the way for future generations of doctors from underrepresented communities.

Virginia Apgar

You might not know her name, but Virginia Apgar’s lifesaving test for newborns has shaped the first minutes of millions of babies’ lives. Forging a path in the mid-20th century, she graduated from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1933 and, five years later, became the first director of Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital’s newly created anesthesia division. Her most groundbreaking achievement, however, came through her work in obstetrical anesthesia: she developed the Apgar score, the first standardized system to evaluate a newborn’s heart rate, respiration, muscle tone, reflexes, and color, giving doctors a crucial tool to identify infants in need of urgent care. Later, Apgar earned a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins University and served as vice president for medical affairs at the March of Dimes, where she led initiatives to reduce birth defects and improve maternal and newborn health worldwide.

Mary Putnam Jacobi

In the historically male-dominated medical world, myths about menstruation were widespread. Mary Putnam Jacobi, a pioneering physician and educator, worked to debunk these misconceptions, culminating in a prize-winning paper that disproved claims about women’s physical limitations during their cycles. After earning her MD from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1864, Jacobi became the first woman to study at École de Médecine de Paris. Throughout her career, she championed coeducation in medical schools—arguing that women’s institutions could not match the clinical experience of major hospitals—and in 1872, she founded the Association for the Advancement of the Medical Education of Women, all while gaining recognition for her groundbreaking research.

Antonia Novello

As both the first Hispanic and first woman U.S. surgeon general, Antonia Novello made history in multiple ways. A native of Puerto Rico, she was inspired to pursue medicine after a congenital megacolon—a costly condition—highlighted the need for affordable, accessible healthcare. After earning her MD from the University of Puerto Rico, Novello moved from pediatrics to public health, rising through the ranks at the National Institutes of Health before being appointed surgeon general in 1990. In the role, she prioritized the health of women, children, and minorities, spearheading campaigns on underage drinking, smoking, and AIDS, while addressing health inequities in vulnerable communities. When Novello stepped down in 1993, President Bill Clinton praised her “vigor and talent.”

Gerty Theresa Cori

Gerty Theresa Cori broke new ground in biochemistry, uncovering the Cori cycle: the process by which the body converts glycogen into glucose to fuel muscles. In 1947, Cori shattered glass ceilings as the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing the honor with her husband and research partner, Carl Cori.

Her discovery of the Cori cycle helped scientists develop treatments for diabetes and other metabolic diseases, but that wasn’t her only contribution to the field. In addition to her scientific achievements, Cori shattered barriers for women in academia, holding faculty positions at Washington University and the University of Chicago, and left a lasting mark on both medical research and the path for future female scientists.

Susan La Flesche Picotte

Susan La Flesche Picotte paved the way as the first Native American woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S., graduating at the top of her class from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1889. Motivated by the tragic death of a Native woman refused care by a white doctor, Picotte returned to the Omaha Reservation in Nebraska to serve her community, often traveling miles on horseback to reach patients. But she didn’t stop at treating illness: she tackled public health head-on, improving sanitation, nutrition, and education, and in 1906 led a delegation to Washington, D.C., to lobby for a ban on alcohol on the reservation. Trailblazer, advocate, and healer, Picotte transformed healthcare on the Omaha Reservation and set a new standard for Native American physicians, inspiring generations to follow in her footsteps.

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