{"id":111203,"date":"2023-02-14T16:30:22","date_gmt":"2023-02-14T21:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/?p=111203"},"modified":"2023-02-17T08:24:56","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T13:24:56","slug":"distinguished-alumni-speak-at-rebecca-lee-crumpler-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/2023\/02\/14\/distinguished-alumni-speak-at-rebecca-lee-crumpler-symposium\/","title":{"rendered":"Distinguished Alumni Speak at Rebecca Lee Crumpler Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at a February 8 virtual symposium<\/a> celebrating Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD, four distinguished alumni reflected on their medical careers, their experiences at the School and on the personal impact of Crumpler\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

Graduating from New England Female Medical College in 1864 (which merged with Boston University in 1873 to become Boston University School of Medicine), Crumpler was the first Black female physician in the U.S. In \u201cA Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts,\u201d she wrote she was driven to pursue \u201cevery opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others,\u201d and she chose to provide treatment, particularly to women and children, regardless of their ability to pay.<\/p>\n

But Crumpler faced racism and sexism as pharmacists refused to fill her prescriptions, fellow physicians shunned her, and she was denied admitting privileges at hospitals.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot\u201cThe fact that the School of Medicine was originally a female medical college \u2026 speaks volumes to the emphasis placed on the importance of women in medicine. And then, to have a Black woman \u2026 at the end of the Civil War who actually graduated (with a medical degree) and was the first in the U.S. \u2026 It just reemphasizes the school’s mission \u2026 in terms of understanding the importance of women, and women of color, in medicine,\u201d said Patricia Williams, MD\u201989, former vice president of safety surveillance and risk management for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n

A BU undergraduate, Williams said premed competitiveness shifted to a supportive environment once she started at medical school. While there was a fair amount of tough love, Williams said staff, faculty and students pulled together to help everyone.<\/p>\n

\"HeadshotAs a medical student, Nancy Roberson Jasper, MD\u201984, a former assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center, was impressed by the School\u2019s emphasis on community outreach. She recalled an incident where medical students went to the home of man suffering from prostate cancer, who also was experiencing elder abuse, and brought him back to the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was so courageous, and how unique that was, that we had done that for this individual,\u201d said Jasper.<\/p>\n

The idea of serving the community, locally and globally, was always present throughout her career, including a mission to the impoverished and war-torn West African country of Sierra Leone to investigate women\u2019s health issues and infant mortality. She recently decided to leave Columbia University and a private practice in mid-town Manhattan for a position as an OB\/GYN at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to go back to where I really feel my roots are \u2026 to get back to the community for (whom) I had gone into medicine, to take care of women who had not had the opportunities that I had \u2026 who I knew couldn’t come and see me in my own practice because they didn’t have insurance,\u201d said Jasper.<\/p>\n

\"HeadshotJennifer H. Mieres, MD\u201986, dean for faculty affairs and professor of cardiology at Hofstra University\u2019s Zucker School of Medicine, said her BU education \u201csparked her curiosity and made me look at medical problems \u2026 with a much more global view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her choice of cardiology came from the loss of her grandfather due to a heart attack. As a cardiologist, she was \u201cintrigued by the heart and how the heart worked,\u201d but was drawn to consider the larger issues. A third-year rotation with attending cardiologist Alice Jacobs, now professor of medicine and vice chair for clinical affairs in the department of medicine at the School, showed her that women could forge a career in what continues to be a male-dominated field. But her subsequent research work pushed her to investigate root problems \u2013 like why women with heart issues were diagnosed so much later than men \u2013 and to help write American Heart Association guidelines on how to use diagnostic technology on women.<\/p>\n

The co-author of five books and co-producer of four documentaries including the Emmy-nominated \u201cA Woman\u2019s Heart,\u201d Mieres appreciated that Crumpler\u2019s book was aimed at making medicine understandable for the average person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inspired by my patients to translate all of the science into actionable steps,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I think, like Rebecca Lee Crumpler, with the intellectual curiosity and the solution-minded mindset that started at Boston University, I was able to join forces with colleagues to really help patients and people become empowered to be partners in their health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HeadshotEbonie Woolcock<\/a>, MD\u201910, MPH, assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology, assistant dean for diversity & inclusion and director of the Early Medical School Selection Program (EMSSP), was born and raised in Boston. She was the first in three generations of her family to break the cycle of teen pregnancy and also the first to graduate from college. Her background varies greatly from the typical applicant who gains admission to medical school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving deans and faculty who recognized that my path to the School might be a little bit different, and the support for me might be a little bit different, was really, really important,\u201d said Woolcock.<\/p>\n

The larger social and medical issues behind teen pregnancy helped draw her into women\u2019s health and to become an OB\/GYN. The late Kenneth Edelin, MD, was a mentor and while in medical school, Woolcock found that she was particularly interested in the surgical delivery of babies by Cesarean delivery (C-section).<\/p>\n

Woolcock recounted a difficult C-section with a medical student observing. \u201cI said to him, \u2018so that’s not normal, that’s not what we normally do.\u2019 But his eyes were so big, and I remember having that same moment when I saw my first C-section,\u201d she said. \u201cMy eyes (were) so big, like this is amazing. We went in the room with 1 1\/2 patients, then came out with two.\u201d<\/p>\n

It helped her connect the direct ways in which physicians help people, regardless of their life circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was this whole idea of intervention and public health and (that) this is really a space where I, as a Black woman, can make a difference and use my hands, and within two minutes, I can actually make a difference in someone’s life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Woolcock saw a life lesson in Crumpler\u2019s inherently solitary drive and perseverance, especially when facing self-doubt and the feeling you don\u2019t belong. You need to look within, she said, and she reminds her students of the importance of self-affirmations all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those moments, I remind myself that \u2018I\u2019m the bomb. Do you know how hard I had to fight to get here? Do you know how smart I had to be to get here?\u201d she said. \u201cDo you know whose shoulders I stand on? Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler did it, so can I.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly all the panelists had made career moves, often dictated by life circumstances, and Jasper advised medical students not to be afraid of change.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe fearless,\u201d said Jasper. \u201cThere are going to be times when things are not going to go the way you expected them to, but then, there are going to be times when you\u2019re going to have riches beyond your belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 190 registered to attend the virtual event sponsored by the diversity & inclusion and development office. Watch the event recording!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumni reflect on Crumpler\u2019s legacy, impact on their careers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[154,124,91,295],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111203"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111350,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111203\/revisions\/111350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}