Gender-gap has narrowed, but it still exists.

The medical field is dubbed as “male-dominated” and whether you agree to this or not, I’ll have to keep going. Undeniably, some women still face gender-related challenges in the workplace and women in the medical field are not an exception.

At present, however, the cry for a lift in women’s participation and representation gave gender equality an increased public attention. I believe prominent female figures in the media, politics, science, etc. have influenced this wider stretch of public acceptance.

As a woman and as an aspiring female physician, I look up to a handful female leaders and renowned female figures in the field of science. These are those whom I feel like I can relate to and identify with. For one, I admire who most people dub as “the woman of many firsts” —Dr. Fe del Mundo, a Filipina physician-researcher.

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She was the doyenne of Filipino Doctors and was known as the founder of the first pediatric hospital in the Philippines. She was recognized as the first woman to be declared as a National Scientist of the Philippines in 1980. On top of the long list of awards and recognition she had received in her lifetime, she was the first woman to attend Harvard Medical School. Truly, she is a woman of many firsts and she has lived her life serving the disadvantaged Filipino children.

“I’m glad that I have been very much involved in the care of children, and that I have been relevant to them, They are the most outstanding feature in my life.”

Fe del Mundo

I admire her for challenging the stereotypes of gender incompatibility in the field of medicine and research by completing post-graduate work at a male-dominated university (Harvard University) and succeeded against all odds.

The love she had for children was very respectable. She made it known that there were not enough health officers who had background on pediatrics. Consequently, children mortality heightened because not everyone had the privilege to be checked by doctors and/or medical professionals. She authored several researches and led various innovations in the field. She was particularly invested in infectious diseases (e.g. she did a study on dengue fever, polio, measles, etc.) She was ascribed with studies that led to the invention of a jaundice relieving device and devised an incubator made of bamboo.

<https://www.google.com/doodles/fe-del-mundos-107th-birthday&gt;

I think highly of her moving dedication and legacy in the field of medicine and research. Devoting half of one’s lifetime taking care of the sick and disadvantaged is never an easy thing to do. It entails a lot of sacrifice and taken together, I love how taking a glimpse of Dr. del Mundo’s legacy always makes me ponder … this time, it got me asking: how much am I willing to sacrifice for what I love? How badly do I want this (M.D.) ?

Sure enough, I’ll know myself better in the years to come. And as I progress through medical school, I hope that I’d be able to find definite answers to the questions running in my head and I hope it’s the same answer that my heart knows as of now—I have waited for this my whole life and I can’t wait to turn my dreams into reality. So, if it getting there means I have to give up most of my youth, I’d gladly do it.

I aspire to be as good and as dedicated as the people I look up to and as a medical student who is just barely starting out in the medical field, I take my role models’ influence pretty thoughtfully. I take strength and inspiration from the fact that even the ones who seem to have it all together and the ones who make world-changing discoveries, are just people…human like any of us. They are constant reminders that anyone is wholly capable of overcoming improbabilities.

References:

Lim, F. (2007). PCIJ: Dr. Fe del Mundo, a woman of many firsts. Retrieved from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/specialreports/55128/pcij-dr-fe-del-mundo-a-woman-of-many-firsts/story/ 

Santos, P. (2018, November 28). Who is Fe Del Mundo and what are her greatest achievements? Retrieved from https://kami.com.ph/84059-who-fe-del-mundo-greatest-achievements.html#84059 

Villa, N. (2018). Google honors National Scientist Fe del Mundo with a doodle. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/technology/217605-fe-del-mundo-google-doodle-107th-birth-anniversary. 

Walker, T. (2018, November 27). Fe Del Mundo - The Angel of Santo Tomas - a life of many firsts. Retrieved from https://philippineslifestyle.com/fe-del-mundo-life-many-firsts/