Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: The first Black girl M.D. in the US
Many Black women have contributed to the development of the medical sciences throughout history, though often, their labels have remained little known. In this Specialized Characteristic, we celebrate the life and achievements of 1 of these Dark colored pioneers: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler.
Publishing in a BMJ Opinion part, Dr. Nycole K. Joseph, a neurologist-in-training, describes her connection with racism as a Black physician practicing in the USA.
“My Blackness entered the area first, and my other attributes followed,” she writes.
“Although a career in healthcare is rewarding, it poses particular engrained challenges for folks from various ethnic backgrounds. Black professionals frequently cite experiencing isolation, lack of representation within departments and in leadership positions, and inadequate mentoring and sponsorship to aid with career advancement and decision producing,” Dr. Joseph explains.
Systemic racism and anti-Blackness continue steadily to affect both affected individuals and medical practitioners in the U.S. and somewhere else. Often ignored may be the fact that Dark scientists and medical professionals have already been among the pioneers of medical research.
In this Special Feature, we celebrate the life and achievements of one such pioneering amount: Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler.
Dr. Lee Crumpler’s early on life
Dr. Lee Crumpler, née Rebecca Davis, was created on February 8, 1831, in Delaware to Absolum Davis and Matilda Webber.
There is little info on her early on years, though historians concur that she spent a lot of her childhood in the care of an aunt in Pennsylvania.
In the introduction to the reserve she later wrote - A Book of Medical Discourse: In Two Parts (1883) - Dr. Lee Crumpler recalls that it was the time spent with her aunt when she was little that encouraged her to pursue medical training.
This aunt had been a healing occurrence in her community, which left a strong impression on the physician in her youth:
“Having been reared by a sort aunt found in Pennsylvania, whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought, I early conceived a good liking for, and sought every possibility to be in a posture to, relieve the sufferings of others.”
Between 1852 and 1860, Dr. Lee Crumpler lived and performed in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, MA, where she practiced as a nurse, assisting many doctors in the area.
“From these doctors I received letters commending me personally to the faculty of the New England Female Medical University, whence, 4 years afterward, I received the amount of doctress of treatments,” she writes.
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
