Women Firsts in MGH History

September is Women in Medicine Month!

The American Medical Association (AMA) celebrates Women in Medicine Month in September to commemorate the increase in the number of women in the industry. The AMA Women Physicians Section (WPS) recognizes doctors who have contributed their time, wisdom, and support to advancing the careers of women in medicine. Especially in a world where gender inequity is prevalent, this is an amazing opportunity to celebrate women in the industry.

According to the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), 2019 was the first year where female US medical school students outnumbered their male counterparts. Although males still dominate the medical industry, the population of women in medicine is steadily increasing.

Women Firsts in MGH History

Let’s take a look at the amazing women firsts in MGH! These women were the first females to occupy their roles since MGH’s founding.

1913: Dr. Willey Glover Denis – assistant chemist at MGH and first woman elected to MGH staff

Source: Smithsonian Institution Archives

1916: Dr. Loretta Cummins – first woman Assistant in Dermatology at MGH

1919: Dr. Mary Wright – first woman member of the House Staff, who was appointed as a House Pupil or Intern in the Children's Medical Service at MGH

1932: Dr. Marian Wilkins Ropes Fielding – first woman admitted to a medical residency at MGH

1936: Dr. Julia Arrowood – first woman Resident in Anesthesia at MGH

1938: Dr. Carrie E. Chapman – first House Pupil [equivalent to Intern] in Anesthesia at MGH

1938: Dr. Dera Kinsey – first Assistant Resident in Medicine at MGH

1943: Dr. Margaret Shipley – first Medical House Pupil [equivalent to Intern] at MGH

1943: Dr. Vivian [Allison] Tenney – first Assistant Resident in Gynecology at MGH

1944: Dr. Celia White Tabor – first female physician-scientist intern in MGH’s Department of Internal Medicine

1944: Dr. Catherine R. Michie – first woman Resident in Pathology at MGH

1946: Dr. Frances Jones Bonner – Psychiatrist – both the first African American woman Resident and first African American woman faculty member (1949) at MGH

1949: Dr. Lucy Frank Squire – first woman to be enrolled as a resident in radiology program

1958: Dr. Harriet Louise Hardy – first woman at MGH to be appointed Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at HMS

1976: Dr. Eve Elizabeth Slater – first woman to become Chief Resident in Medicine at MGH

1979: Dr. Mary Kraft – first female Chief Resident in Anesthesia at MGH

1984: Dr. Patricia Kilroy Donahoe – first woman to lead an MGH Surgery Division (Pediatric Surgery) and first woman Professor of Surgery at HMS – Chief of Pediatric Surgery

1991: Dr. Anne Buckingham Young – first woman to be appointed chief of service (Neurology)

1993: Dr. Theresa Claire McLoud – first woman in Radiology at MGH to hold the rank of Professor at Harvard

1997: Dr. Anne Klibanski – first woman promoted to full professor of medicine at Harvard from MGH. In 2019, she was named the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Partners HealthCare, the first woman to hold that title.

2009: Dr. Joan W. Miller – first woman appointed as chief of ophthalmology at both Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and MGH

2013: Dr. Katrina Armstrong – first woman to lead the Department of Medicine, MGH

2021: Dr. Marcela del Carmen – first woman to be president of MGPO

Anne Klibanski, MD

Anne Klibanski, MD, was the first woman promoted to Full Professor of Medicine at Harvard from Massachusetts General Hospital in 1997. Later in 2019, she then became the first ever woman President and CEO of Mass General Brigham (MGB). Prior to serving as interim president, Dr. Klibanski was Chief Academic Officer for MGB since 2012. Barnard College awarded her a degree, and the New York University Medical Center awarded her a medical degree. She held dual positions as a Professor at Harvard Medical School and Academic Dean for MGB. Dr. Klibanski was also a member of the MGH General Executive Committee, the Board of Albireo Pharmaceuticals, the Scientific Advisory Board of Crinetics, and the Board of Partners International, with a focus on rare endocrine diseases. In her more recent role as President and CEO of Partners HealthCare, her vision for Mass General Brigham is to create the integrated academic health care system of the future with patients at its core in order to transform care, enhance results, and broaden influence locally, nationally, and globally.

Katrina Armstrong, MD, MS

Katrina Armstrong, MD, MS, became the first woman Physician-in-Chief of Massachusetts General Hospital’s expansive Department of Medicine in April 2013. Dr. Armstrong was the Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Trained as a primary care physician, Dr. Armstrong is a world-renowned investigator in the areas of medical decision-making, quality of care and cancer prevention and outcomes. She oversaw the National Cancer Institute-funded Penn Center for Innovation in Personalized Breast Cancer Screening initiative, which was focused on researching cutting-edge breast cancer screening techniques. She is a Yale University and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumna.

Dr. Armstrong has since left MGH to continue her medical endeavors in Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC).

Department of Medicine—Women in Medicine Initiatives

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