Past Events

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is a long-term study that has focused on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Over 160,000 women aged 50-79 have been involved in this 15-year project which is one of the most definitive, far-reaching clinical trials of women's health ever undertaken in the U.S. Join Vivian Pinn, M.D. and Judith Ockene, Ph.D, M.Ed, M.A, for an informative discussion of research in women's health and how the findings of the WHI study affect the everyday lives of women. Dr. Pinn is Director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ockene is Professor of Medicine and the Barbara Helen Smith Chair in Preventive and Behavioral Medicine at UMass Medical School and Principal Investigator for the WHI study at UMass Medical School/Fallon Clinic. Light refreshments will be served.

Discover the history and world of medicine from the female perspective during a guided tour through the traveling Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physician exhibition. You'll explore how female pioneers in medicine confronted racial and sexist prejudice, achieved monumental breakthroughs, changed the way medicine is practiced, inspired future generations, and transformed our world. After your exciting tour, go behind the scenes with staff and volunteers from UMass Medical School for fun workshops in herbal and complementary medicine, panel discussions with women in medicine and science today, or learn about breast cancer awareness and prevention. If you want, you can even earn requirements toward the "Women Through Time" and "In the Pink" IP's! There will be a cafeteria for parents or troop advisors who serve as drivers. And, there are a few volunteer positions open for council trained volunteers. Interested volunteers should contact Kelly. Carpooling is strongly encouraged, as there will be an onsite parking fee.

Dr. More will analyze the role conflict faced by women physicians who publicly advocate for sexual health, a controversial subject which destabilizes deeply entrenched structures of (masculine) professional identity while also tapping into a pool of unresolved issues of feminine sexuality. By analyzing the strategies adopted by the well-known physician and sex educator, Mary Steichen Calderone (1904-1998), Dr. More will show the strategies she adopted to transform feelings of sexual shame into a source of personal power and cultural authority. Calderone was the medical director of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 1953 to 1964, and founding director of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US, or SIECUS, from 1964 to 1982. Promulgating sexual liberation while performing feminine professionalism, she asserted that sexuality was a fundamental component of human identity, constitutive of mental and physical well-being.

Something the Lord Made recounts the relationship between Dr. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) and Vivien Thomas (Mos Def). It begins in 1930s Nashville when imperious cardiac surgeon Blalock hires Thomas, an African American carpenter, as his janitor. When the latter reveals a passion for medicine and facility with surgical instruments, Blalock promotes him to lab tech. Thomas isn't given a raise, works side jobs to make ends meet, and is expected to be grateful. Along the way, he follows Blalock from Vanderbilt to Johns Hopkins, where they save thousands of lives through their pioneering work. Learn about the contributions of Dr. Helen B. Taussig in this amazing event in medical history.

Yesterday brings an intimate human perspective to the AIDS crisis in Africa. Yesterday is a moving and heartfelt portrait of a young, devoted mother who learns that she is HIV positive. Learn about Yesterday's (played by Leleti Khumalo) struggle to find good medical care and how important it is for doctors to educate their patients. One might expect a film about AIDS to be terribly depressing, and Director Darrell Roodt pulls no punches when conveying the emotional anguish of Yesterday's dilemma. But Yesterday is so visually beautiful in terms of its physical and spiritual landscape that it's universally appealing.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden delivers a dramatic, emotionally compelling portrait of a young woman's experience of psychiatric treatment. The movie features a critically acclaimed performance by Kathleen Quinlan as a mentally ill teen who struggles between fantasy and reality, escaping to her own imaginary world. Deborah is sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment by Dr. Fried (Bibi Andersson), who must attempt to rescue Deborah from the cruel beauty of her inner world. The fictional Dr. Fried is based on real life Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, a German emigrant and one of the first female psychotherapists in Germany.

Following her talk, Dr. Klass will sign copies of her recent novel, The Mystery of Breathing (Houghton Mifflin).

Imagine trying to break into the medical field back in the 1840's! Everyone was against this strong, bright woman becoming a doctor: Medical schools, other doctors, male patients and especially other women. How did she do it? Her lifetime accomplishments were extraordinary. A real pioneer. This one-woman play will be performed live.

Girl Scouts of all ages, as well as their friends and families, are welcome to explore the history of women and medicine during this special Girl Scout open house. With your sister and brother Scouts, you'll tour the national traveling Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating Amerca's Women Physicians exhibit. Learn how female pioneers in medicine confronted racial and sexist prejudice, achieved monumental breakthroughs, changed the way medicine is practiced, inspired future generations, and transformed our world. The exhibition features more than 330 extraordinary female physicians and chronicles their battle to gain access to medical education, hospital training, and establish professions. There's even a local doctor featured! Don't miss this opportunity.