Question 3 – In what ways did the First World War change the Role of Women in Medicine?
In today’s world there are many female doctors, nurses, and midwives. Many women are now involved in medicine however, many years ago it would not seem acceptable. The attitude towards women in medicine changed rapidly during the WW1 when hospitals were in need of help. Although, the role of women in Firs World War had the most impact, the fact that women took action even before that, when they started their Suffragettes campaigning to gain the right to vote in 1912, only helped them in reaching their goal which was to become noticed by the government. When the WW1 broke out in 1914 women already had proven themselves as being dignified, cooperative and supportive in times of crisis.
Women tried to prove that their help in medicine was needed. However, there were obstacles that made this situation harder for example the Social Issues. If women became doctors it would automatically affect the majority of men as they would lose control over their professions and would set all sorts of undesirable and controversial examples. Another issue that women were faced with was that male population thought that women would make medicine more trivial. They also faced that argument when they were trying to get the vote. Furthermore, there was a biological barrier that kept them from becoming involved with medicine. It was improper for women to ‘act against the normal inclinations of their sex’ by going to work. There was also a problem of ‘Public versus Private sphere distinction’. It was based on a public world of politics and a private world of family and economic relations. It wasn’t appropriate for women to get drawn into the ‘Public Sphere’ as it was seen as dangerous and unsafe place for them unlike the ‘Private World’. Women were barred form the medical professions since the late middle ages. It was only men who could get into the University. However, Elizabeth Garret trained privately and got accepted as a doctor by the Society of Apothecaries. Sophia Jex-Blake was also a significant person as she settled up The London School of Medicine for women in 1874. She was also the first women to practice as a doctor in Scotland. Florence Nightingale also contributed by serving in the Middlesex Hospital during the 1845 cholera epidemic.
