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About Us - History

"Dr. Maude Abbott"

In 1924 a group of women physicians, while attending the Canadian Medical Association’s Annual General Meeting, met to found the Federation of Medical Women of Canada.

The six founding physicians were:

Dr. Maude Abbott (Chair)
- internationally known pathologist and researcher
Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw
- medical advisor to Canada's first birth-control clinic.
Dr. Elizabeth Embury
- one of the first women to graduate in medicine in Canada (Queen’s 1888)
Dr. Janet Hall
- family doctor (Trinity, 1899)
Dr. Helen MacMurchy
- one of the few doctors working in a senior position in federal government
Dr. Jennie Smillie
- surgeon at Women’s College Hospital, Toronto

Since its formation, FMWC has acted as a guardian for women physicians and medical students, giving loans, mentoring and networking opportunities, and acting as a powerful voice in dealing with issues that concern women physicians and women’s health in society. Most of the women physician leaders in Canada have received their training and support through membership in FMWC.

FMWC was initially affiliated with the British Federation of Medical Women, and later became an independent nation member of Medical Women’s International Association.

To learn more about the history of FMWC and women in medicine in Canada, read The Indomitable Lady Doctors, available through the FMWC national office (go to Store)

PAST PRESIDENTS OF FMWC

NB. this list is under development-please contact us if you have missing information

WHAT'S NEW
	Creating Climate Change for the Medical Workplace CLICK http://www.cwhn.ca/en TO GO TO CWHN WEBINAR Presenters: Janet Dollin MDCM, CCFP, FCFP Kathleen Gartke, MD, FRCSC Barbara Lent MD, CCFP, FCFP Cheryl Levitt MBBCh, CCFP, FCFP The current reality of Canadian physician demographics will require men and women to collaborate to optimize clinical care through innovative ways of organizing clinical work and academic responsibilities. Presenters will look at international data in context with what we have learned in Canada to ensure healthy medical workplaces, to improve gender equity in the ranks and within leadership, and to build family-friendly workplaces within our institutions. The goal is for webinar participants to discover the relevance of these international reports to Canada and to their own workplace, reflect on evolving attitudinal shifts, gain deeper understanding across generations and consider possible individual and institutional responses to the issues raised. New HPV Prevention Vaccine for Males The Federation of Medical Women of Canada (FMWC) applauds Health Canada for approving GARDASIL for boys and men for the prevention of HPV infection, the most common sexually transmitted infection in Canada. Men play an important role in the transmission of HPV to their sexual partners who, as a result, can develop HPV-related ano-genital cancers and genital warts. Previously, girls and women age 9 to 26 have been approved to receive this vaccine. The FMWC believes that decreasing the risk of HPV infection in men through vaccination will provide additional public health benefit by decreasing the risk of infection to their sexual partners.

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