Recognizing Women In Medicine Is Important Beyond 'Women In Medicine Month'

With September in the rearview mirror, so too is Women in Medicine month. Women in Medicine (WIM) Month "serves to showcase the accomplishments of women physicians as well as to highlight advocacy related to women physicians and health issues impacting women patients," per the American Medical Association, who have even adopted an outline of recommendations for achieving equity. It's with equity in mind that many at the College of Human Medicine believe continuously acknowledging women in the profession is important. Every month. Every year.

Today, women make up more than a third of practicing physicians. Large increases in the number of women in medicine have naturally meant more women in med school. As statistics from the American Association of Medical Colleges show, women made up only 9.3% of matriculants in 1966. Fifty years later, women were close to 48% of incoming students. Here at the College of Human Medicine, in fact, five of our last six entering classes saw women make up the majority. So while those figures have steadily increased, the percentages show there are still a ways to go.

As we move forward, several students and faculty from within CHM (including our own Asst. Dean for Admissions, Dr. Joel Maurer) were invited to share how and why recognizing Women In Medicine is significant to them.


At the College of Human Medicine, we celebrate female physicians dedicated to helping others. To highlight the importance of women in medicine, we asked students, alumni, faculty and the community to share a few words. See more great content at our Women In Medicine Month page.

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