American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) Essay

The organization I choose to do my research on is called the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA). This organization is made up of the different personnel that make up the medical industry from the medical students to the physicians that use their voice to promote women's health and advancement of women in the medical field. "The organization was founded by Dr. Bertha VanHoosen in 1915 in Chicago, at a time when women physicians were an under-represented minority. As women in medicine increase in numbers, new problems and issues arise that were not anticipated. AMWA has been addressing these issues for 95 years". AMWA became the first national organization of women doctors around 1915. "AMWA organized committees to document for the first time unequal opportunities for women in postgraduate training, hospital internships, academic appointments, scholarships and papers presented at professional meetings".
AMWA expanded internationally by forming the first international organization called the Medical Women's International Association. Overseas work provided great opportunities for professional advancement but women doctors were not allowed to participate in the military medical sector. AMWA connected issues of worldwide policies to the specific conditions of women in medicine, so they used public opinion through charity work to gain confidence in the competence of women doctors. AMWA formed the American Women's Hospital Service (AWHS) that allowed military commissions for women physicians and care for civilian war victims. AMWA was able to charity $2 million and launch a mission to deliver voluntary medical relief throughout the world which allowed them to sponsored medical, health care, and social welfare services in 11 countries. "By delivering successful charitable care around the world, women doctors were breaking down barriers, exhibiting leadership and building trusts between women physicians and the public". AMWA entered the political arena to fight for policy reform. "AMWA joined the Women's Joint Congressional Committee to lobby for pioneering legislation that resulted in 16 women physicians as state health directors and over 100 professional appointments of women physicians in the program's administration". As a result, women obtained senior leadership roles.
AMWA studied factors influencing the entry of women into medicine and attitude toward medicine. Leaders of the organization knew the problem both as a conflict between profession and family. AMWA was being choose to advocate for the positive advantages of society to make an equitable place for women in medicine. They achieved this by sponsoring a conference called "Meeting the Manpower Needs The Fuller Utilization of the Woman Physician" with the Women's Bureau. AMWA reversed the assumptions about the lower intellectual capabilities of women. "AMWA focused on eliminating the cultural factors discouraging women from entering the profession and created a pamphlet for high school guidance counselors entitled, So You Want To Be a Doctor? Acknowledging a need to attract young women into medical school, AMWA established scholarship programs, junior branches and awards for women medical students. Additionally, they extended leadership training to young women physicians by creating board positions for medical students and an extensive mentoring network for students, residents and physicians".