Women in history

PBS documentary covers women in osteopathic medicine

View the documentary online that celebrates the profession’s past, present, and future.

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Before U.S. women had the right to vote, Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO, admitted them to the first osteopathic medical school. This revolutionary decision to reshape health care with women as equals to their male counterparts promised an onerous journey, one that today’s osteopathic physicians are still navigating.

Inspired by “The Feminine Touch: Women in Osteopathic Medicine,” a book by Thomas Quinn, DO, this documentary from WEDU PBS in Tampa, Florida, tells the story of women in osteopathic medicine and is now available for free online viewing.

“There are a lot of parallels between women becoming accepted as physicians on the MD or the DO side and osteopathic physicians being accepted in the bigger medical community,” says Karen Nichols, DO, who is featured in the documentary.

Both male and female osteopathic physicians who recognize that gender inequality still exists continue to find ways to raise the visibility of female physicians.

“Progress is being made, but change in culture is a long and tedious process,” says Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, in the trailer for The Feminine Touch.

The documentary will air on April 20, 2017, in the Tampa area and may later be picked up by other PBS affiliates. Check back with The DO in early April for a Q&A with the documentary’s producer and some of the featured osteopathic physicians.

Follow WEDU PBS on Facebook and Twitter for more details on “The Feminine Touch.”

5 comments

  1. Tom

    The documentary on women in osteopathic medicine airs on WEDU-TV in the Tampa Bay, FL area on April 20th and is released to all PBS stations in the USA in August.
    If your PBS station does not show the documentary, please contact them and ask them to show “The Feminine Touch”.

    1. Alyssa

      As a female osteopathic medical student, I would like to show this documentary to our school. Is there anyway to purchase or get the rights to show the documentary?

  2. Sheila Murrey

    As a natural and holistic health writer, I am extremely interested and excited to see this movie! How can I help get the word out? I will share the link on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. But I’d love to do more! Could we show it at our 6th annual Awakening Into The Sun health and wellness festival the first weekend of March 2018?

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