Women in Medicine

Description

The Artemisia Breakthrough  |  by J. J. Jonas

The remarkable story of Chinese chemist Tu Youyou, who turns to centuries-old medical texts in the search for a new treatment for malaria. Through persistence, experimentation, and an overlooked clue about sweet wormwood, she helps develop artemisinin, a discovery that would save millions of lives and eventually earn her the Nobel Prize. Tu Youyou searches ancient Chinese medical texts after repeated laboratory failures and realizes that heat has been destroying sweet wormwood’s healing compound. J. J. Jonas follows the cold extraction, Tu’s decision to test it on herself, and the discovery of artemisinin, a malaria treatment that has saved millions.

Dr. Crumpler Will See You Now  |  by J. J. Jonas

A moving portrait of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. Facing both racism and sexism, Crumpler refuses to be denied her place in medicine and devotes her career to treating underserved patients, particularly formerly enslaved families following the Civil War. Rebecca Lee Crumpler becomes the first African American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree, then treats formerly enslaved families despite racism and obstruction. J. J. Jonas presents medicine as both practical care and an opened door for the women who follow.

Now, Where Does It Hurt?  |  by J. J. Jonas

A shorter, performance-friendly version of Rebecca Lee Crumpler’s story, tracing her journey from a determined medical student to a pioneering physician. With warmth and humor, the poem celebrates a woman who walked through doors others tried to close and then helped hold those doors open for the women who followed.

Women in White Coats  |  by J. J. Jonas

Elizabeth Blackwell, Rebecca Lee Crumpler, Mary Edwards Walker, Virginia Apgar, Helen Taussig, and Joycelyn Elders move through different eras of medical history. J. J. Jonas links their breakthroughs in access, surgery, infant care, cardiology, public health, and patient dignity into a collective inheritance for future physicians.