Happy Women’s History Month! Though Penn Presbyterian Medical Center celebrates the clinical contributions, academic accomplishments, and exceptional efforts of women across departments, units, and leadership roles all year round, the month of March offers a reminder to look back at those pioneering women who helped shape PPMC into the industry leader it is today.
In the late nineteenth century, women across the country who were interested in practicing medicine began to break down systemic gender barriers and defy the dominant attitudes that judged them unworthy or incapable of the pursuit. Shortly after “Presbyterian Hospital” opened its doors in July 1872, the local Ladies’ Aid Society (LAS) — one of many women-run organizations that provided aid to soldiers during the Civil War, then turned their post-war efforts to fundraising and social services — began soliciting funds and providing supplies to the new hospital. By 1878, their funds had built and opened a women’s surgical ward, and a decade later, the society created a “visiting committee” to check in on patients at the hospital and upon their return home.
The committee’s first official “visitor” was Caroline L. Farnum, who had recently graduated from the local nursing school at the Philadelphia Almshouse and Hospital (“Old Blockley”). Farnum quickly found that combining nursing training with the visits provided an excellent opportunity for potential nurses to practice their skills during house calls. Farnum’s collaborative relationship with the LAS continued, and in 1889, their collective lobbying successfully resulted in the creation of the Presbyterian School of Nursing. In September of that year, Farnum was named “Directress of Nurses” by the hospital’s Board of Trustees, and she wasted no time in building a thriving nursing program. The LAS’ generosity continued, even providing students with their uniforms.
The first nursing candidates were put in charge of the women’s medical ward, and within two months, they were also heading the women’s surgical ward; over time, they would oversee the entire hospital. Farnum took an active role not only in the care of patients, but in her students’ education by leading regular lectures — something her successors would change immediately, first delegating lectures to physicians, then stepping away from bedside care and toward administrative work and curriculum building. In 1891, the school’s first graduating class — Josephine Ambler, Marion Bennett, Mabel G. Gilling, Agnes Holly, Mary McClelland, Margaret Mubray, Margaret Strathie, and Annie Wilson — received their diplomas. Though Farnum resigned her position in 1891, her innovative spirit, unyielding drive, and commitment to sharing knowledge paved the way for nearly a century of Presbyterian-trained nursing students, as well as a culture of excellence that continues to thrive among PPMC’s nursing staff today.
Learn more about the women currently propelling health care and Penn Medicine forward through the monthly #WomenofPenn posts on the Penn Medicine News Blog. This campaign promotes oustanding women leaders and staff at Penn and aims to inspire early-career women in academic medicine through the examples of successful women role models.