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WOMEN SURGEONS HAVE BETTER OUTCOMES THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS
“Women cannot seriously pursue medical careers (…) unless they stop being women: due to physiological laws, women doctors are ambiguous, hermaphrodite or sexless creatures, monsters at any rate. Let those who fancy such a distinction try to acquire it.”
This affirmation by the French physician Lucas-Championnaire shows the long and arduous path women had to take to become doctors and surgeons. The practice of Medicine required masculine qualities, according to the 19th-century view:
“In order to be a physician, one needs a sharp and open mind, a solid and varied education, a serious and strong character, a great deal of self-control, a mix of benignity and stamina, a complete command over one’s feelings, moral vigor and, when necessary, muscular strength. (…) Isn’t feminine nature just the opposite?”
The Journal of Medicine and Surgery Practice stated: “Let us add that it seems obvious that in France women would be exposed to utter failure concerning the final outcome.”
After two centuries, it seems these predictions were wrong: women not only became physicians and surgeons without losing their femininity, but according to two recent studies, women surgeons achieve better results than their male colleagues.
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