Title:Women In Medicine

Today, one of every three American physicians is female, and women represent half of all enrolled medical students. In this issue, we chose to look at just a few of the many unique ways in which women are influencing medical research, practice, and education.

We are proud to highlight some of the countless women in the Georgetown community who have dedicated their lives to healing others, as well as the women and men here who work to improve the health of women. While the path to achieving women’s equity sometimes seems to grow longer, perhaps we are just seeing further down the road from an increasingly higher vantage point.

Science and the humanities come together in a special way at Georgetown to lead in this arena. An emphasis on the study of ethics and bioethics emerges from the very foundation of our Catholic, Jesuit values. Reading the words of the late Professor Estelle Ramey inspires us all to work harder for human dignity and justice through the lens of science—and the art of humor.

Amid the effort to achieve equity, it can be easy to miss incremental, but meaningful, progress: the growing number of women leading academic departments at the Medical Center, the effort to include female subjects in basic science research. We aim to shed light on that progress in this issue, keeping in mind that—at a time when the Vatican has created a commission to consider the role of female deacons in church history—significant change often begins with a simple study.

How are things evolving in your field? We welcome your feedback. Enjoy the read.