9781422273081

Many doctors come from families with doctors in them. They grow up seeing their mother, father (or both!), or an aunt or uncle work as a physician, and it becomes a normal choice for a profession later on in life. They have always wanted to be a healer, and already know a little bit about what it’s like. Some people say that physicians choose their jobs because they want to make money. That might be true for some doctors, but it’s not the end of the story. Doctors in training have to attend years and years of school, and most go into debt before they ever start making money. People need to have another good reason to go through the tough training it takes to become a practicing doctor. Money isn’t the only motive!

OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN MEDICINE

The medical profession hasn’t always been friendly toward women. Luckily, there have always been women who wanted to be physicians, and they overcame the odds to practice medicine. Actually, during most of history, women had a big role to play in healing. Women often treated sickness, helped other women give birth, and generally made people more comfortable. It was only more recently that people started to think that men were best fit to be doctors and healers. Today, however, women are once more proving that they excel in the world of medicine. After being kept out of medical schools and hospitals for decades, more and more women today are joining the ranks of doctors. There are plenty of opportunities for women in medicine. The numbers of female doctors are lower than female medical school students, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t changing. The trend toward an increasing number of women doctors is pretty new. Many older doctors, both male and female, will retire soon, and as younger ones take their places, the numbers of women will increase. In fact, more than 60 percent of physicians WOMEN IN MEDICINE

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