Drs. Renuka Gupta, Judy Tung, and Harjot K. Singh were in attendance as a portrait of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell – the first woman to become an M.D. in the U.S. – was unveiled at NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. The occasion was in honor of National Women Physicians Day held on February 3, 2022.
As mentioned in the WDOM’s January 2022 newsletter by Chair, Dr. Tony Hollenberg, the outstanding contributions of all WDOM women faculty and trainees are recognized every day.
Dr. Gupta, Chief of Medicine at NYP/Lower Manhattan Hospital, said, “Having [Dr. Blackwell’s] portrait here reminds me every day to follow my dreams and passion.”
Dr. Tung, who serves on the Blackwell Society’s steering committee, as Section Chief of Adult Internal Medicine at NYP/WCMC, and as Associate Dean for Faculty Development at Weill Cornell Medicine, said, “The installation of this beautiful, historic portrait of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell is meaningful to me on so many levels.”
“I dreamed of following in her footsteps,” said Dr. Singh, Site Director of Infectious Diseases and an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We honor the path she created by striving for opportunities for female physicians.” One of Dr. Singh’s favorite books as a child was about Dr. Blackwell.
In 1857, Dr. Blackwell founded the first U.S. hospital staffed entirely by women, the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, which evolved into today’s NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital. Subsequently, she launched a medical college devoted entirely to the medical education of women, which was absorbed by what is today Weill Cornell Medicine.
Drs. Tung and Gupta are members of the WDOM’s Division of General Internal Medicine, and Dr. Singh, of the WDOM’s Division of Infectious Diseases.