Since you of the Western Surgical Association have honored me by choosing me as your first woman president, I thought it only fitting to recognize those women physicians who preceded me.
Today as I present this address on the history of women in medicine and surgery, I want to propose to you that over time there has been an intense desire on the part of women to be equally educated with their male peers. This desire has in turn allowed them to learn the science and art of treating their fellow human beings. However, to achieve this, they have had a lofty mountain to scale and have had to find a formidable measure of perseverance.