This Side of Doctoring: Reflections from Women in Medicine

Throughout history women have practiced the art of medicine and healing. Yet they have always faced difficulties in the medical profession–not only have they struggled to gain acceptance from their male colleagues, they have also struggled to find a balance between being a doctor and being a wife and mother.
Here, in This Side of Doctoring Eliza Lo Chin offers a penetrating analysis of what it’s like to be a woman in the highly competitive field of medicine. Written over the last century and a half, this collection of personal stories, poems, essays, and quotations reveals the intimate lives of over a hundred female physicians. There are touching testimonies from early 19th-century medical pioneers like Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from medical school and Harriet Hunt, who had her own practice that catered to women and children yet was never formally trained, to modern-day medical students and doctors.
Poignant and compelling, these narratives offer insights into the struggles and triumphs of women in medicine. Much like an American quilt, this book is a unique and richly textured patchwork of each woman’s extraordinary life and career. This assemblage of so many different voices exemplifies the varied paths that women have created within the medical profession. Together they stand as an enduring tribute to the dedication of all women physicians to both their patients and their families.
“These accounts of doctoring and family concerns are universal enough to transcend gender in relationships with patients and colleagues, balancing work and family, and finding meaning in one’s profession…. For those looking for a compendium of experiences that document the lives of a diverse cross-section of women in US medicine, This Side of Doctoring is a fine addition to the literature.”– The Journal of the American Medical Association