Women in Medicine

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Discover NIH

NIH LogoThe National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

Office of Women's Health serves as the focal point for women's health research at the National Institutes of Health. For over thirty years, ORWH has worked across the NIH and beyond to advance our understanding of sex and gender as influences in health and disease, support women in biomedical careers, and stimulate research to improve the health of women.

Discover the The Pearls of Wisdom online series of short videos aimed to inspire, motivate, and inform women in the beginning or middle stages of their biomedical careers. Produced and funded by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), the series started as a collaboration with the National Medical Association (NMA). It featured prominent women scientists and physicians at NIH and beyond, many from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, sharing words of wisdom, perspectives, and advice directed toward younger women scientists. 

To learn more about some of the women scientists at NIH, check out the Women in Science Profiles from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The Women of Color Research Network (WOCRN) was created to provide women of color and supporters of their advancement in the biomedical sciences information about the NIH grants process, advice on career development, and a forum for networking and sharing information. Explore their Professional/Career Development Tools and Resources page.


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Office on Women's Health (OWH) was established in 1991 within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OWH coordinates women's health efforts across HHS and addresses critical women's health issues by informing and advancing policies, educating health care professionals and consumers, and supporting innovative programs.

Celebrate and support Women in Medicine through your social media channels:

  • Showcase the accomplishments of the #WomenofAMA and all women physicians and medical students
  • Highlight advocacy needs related to the professional concerns of women physicians and health issues impacting women patients
  • Share the important work of the AMA and the Women Physicians Section

Campbell Oparaji D, Hutchinson-Colas J. Women in medicine: It is not only necessary but also essential for the next generation. Case Rep Womens Health. 2022 Jul 5;35:e00427. doi: 10.1016/j.crwh.2022.e00427. PMID: 35942073; PMCID: PMC9356347

Featured Books

  • Title: The Doctors Blackwell
    Author Janice P Nimura
    Publisher W W Norton & Company
    Year published 2021
    Book image The Doctors Blackwell book cover
  • Title: The Scalpel and the Silver Bear
    Author Lori Arviso Alvord MD
    Publisher Bantam Books
    Year published 2000
    Book image Book cover image for the Scalpel and the Silver Bear
  • Title: Twice as Hard
    Author Jasmine Brown
    Publisher Beacon Press
    Year published 2023
    Book image Book cover image for Twice as Hard with a profile image of a black female physician

Terms of use: Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) staff offer these health discussion resources for educational use. The materials included do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the author, publisher, or the sponsoring agencies of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).