Women in medicine

May Owen, MD, Outreach Program - 10/04/2024

The May Owen, MD, Outreach Program is a grant program of the TMA Women Physicians Section (TMA WPS) that provides funding to bring female physician oriented programs and activities to small and mid-sized county medical societies.  

History of Medicine Exhibits - 07/17/2023

Learn More About TMA's History of Medicine Exhibits

Strength in Numbers: Women Physicians Seek to Change the Culture of Medicine - 09/22/2022

In Texas, women accounted for 36% of active physicians as of September, just under the national rate of 37% and more than double their share 25 years ago. They now outnumber men among Texas medical school enrollees, suggesting they may account for most of the physician workforce in future decades.

Women Physicians Spotlight: Lindsay K. Botsford, MD - 09/04/2022

September is Women in Medicine Month. So how are leaders like Lindsay K. Botsford, MD, impacting medicine within organized medicine and within their practice settings? Here's what this TMA Women Physicians Section member has to say.

TMA Women Physicians Section GroupMe - 07/18/2022

Join the TMA-WPS GroupMe! This is an opportunity for TMA woman physician section members to converse informally, collaborate, and exchange information.

Member Spotlight: Emily D. Briggs, MD, Women Physicians Section Chair - 07/04/2022

Meet New Braunfels family physician Emily D. Briggs, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Women Physicians Section. Dr. Briggs feels the section is an important part of TMA because “historically, women have been underrepresented in medicine. Over the decades we have made significant strides. However, leadership in medicine does not reflect this advancement.”

Sponsored Content: Celebrating Female Physicians - 04/05/2022

Feb. 3 is National Women Physicians Day, and the Texas Medical Association is proud to celebrate women physicians who are making a difference in the practice of medicine, in their communities, and in the lives of their patients.

Martha Pugh, MD: One of TMA’s longest-Serving Members Flourished in Male-Dominated Medicine - 12/01/2021

After growing up on a South Alabama cattle farm in the 1940s and ’50s, Martha Pugh, MD, went on to have a 51-year career in a different male-dominated field: medicine. Often one of few women in the building, whether at medical school or in hospitals, Dr. Pugh – now 82 and retired – found common ground with her male peers and went on to become one of the Texas Medical Association’s longest-serving members for 42 years.

A Texas Trailblazer: May Owen, MD, a Medical Pioneer and TMA’s First Female President - 12/01/2021

On May 27, 1936, May Owen, MD, answered a scientific riddle in a speech before the Texas Medical Association, explaining research that would soon make her a statewide celebrity. Dr. Owen’s pioneering work continued in the decades to come, making her the first female president of the Texas Society of Pathologists in 1946, the first female president of the Tarrant County Medical Society in 1947, and the first female president of TMA in 1960.

Texas Medical Students Honor Lubbock Physician, Texas Tech TMA Chapter - 05/10/2021

Lubbock dermatologist Ashley L. Sturgeon, MD, and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine (TTUHSC) were honored today by the Texas Medical Association Medical Student Section (TMA-MSS). Dr. Sturgeon received the 2021 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award for her commitment to mentoring medical students, and TTUHSC received the 2020-21 TMA-MSS Chapter of the Year Award. The awards were presented during TexMed, TMA’s annual conference, held virtually.

New Braunfels Physician Receives TMA’s Young at Heart Award - 05/05/2021

New Braunfels family physician Emily D. Briggs, MD, is the 2021 Texas Medical Association (TMA) Young at Heart Award recipient. Doctors from the TMA Young Physician Section (YPS) announced the award today during TexMed, TMA’s annual meeting, held virtually.

CME Course Addresses Gender Bias - 01/08/2021

The Texas Medical Association Women Physicians Section encourages all TMA members to participate in a CME course that addresses gender bias in the physician workforce and promotes greater diversity in medicine.

Help Shape Texas Health Care Through Grassroots Advocacy - 11/04/2020

Register for the Women Physicians Section’s latest virtual event, Strengthening Medicine Through Advocacy, to be held from 6 to 7 pm Monday, Nov. 9, via Zoom. All Texas Medical Association members are invited.

Texas Medical Students Honor Lubbock Physician - 10/06/2020

Texas medical students recognized Lubbock pulmonologist Cynthia A. Jumper, MD, with the 2020 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award, for her commitment to mentoring medical students. The Texas Medical Association (TMA) Medical Student Section announced the award during TMA’s House of Delegates meeting, held virtually earlier this month.

Be a Women Physicians Section Leader - 08/25/2020

If you’re interested in running for a seat on the Texas Medical Association Women Physicians Section's executive council, the deadline to submit an application or nomination is Monday Aug. 31.

Recognizing the Great Women of Texas Medicine - 04/28/2020

Today is Women in Medicine Day, honoring the tremendous contributions female physicians make to our profession and the patients we serve. The events of this past weekend underscore just how far we still have to go. I will not sugarcoat this. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated by the Texas Medical Association.

More Women Needed in State Leadership, Panelists Say - 12/13/2019

Women need to be more aggressive about seizing leadership roles in the Texas Legislature and state government, according to a panel of Texas politicians speaking at the Texas Medical Association 2019 Advocacy Retreat on Saturday.

Profile: A Strong Start for Texas Women in Medicine - 10/22/2019

Passionate. Knowledgeable. Dedicated. Strong. Those four words only begin to describe the multitude of women who practice medicine throughout Texas. So it’s only fitting that the physician elected as interim chair of the Texas Medical Association’s new Women in Medicine Section exemplifies these qualities.

Gender-Neutral Insurance Rates = Big Savings for Women Physicians - 10/17/2019

To help Texas Medical Association members get the income protection they need, the exclusive TMA Member Long Term Disability Plan, issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, uses group rates that are based on age, not gender. Female physicians will find these gender-neutral group rates significantly less expensive than most individual disability plans available in Texas. 

Enthusiasm, Optimism As TMA’s Women in Medicine Section Gets Down to Business - 10/01/2019

“I think it’s about time this section is here and I have high hopes for what this section can accomplish.” That was the message Texas Medical Association President David C. Fleeger, MD, delivered to the Texas Medical Association’s new Women in Medicine Section as it conducted its first organizational meeting Saturday during Fall Conference.

Define Yourself! Crafting a Powerful Personal Brand - 10/01/2019

The concept of personal brands has been a mainstay in the professional community for 15 years, but few people truly understand what personal brands are, why they are important, or how to evaluate and elevate their own brand.

Women in Medicine: “An Awesome Responsibility” - 09/16/2019

September is Women in Medicine Month, which showcases the accomplishments of women physicians and highlights organized medicine’s advocacy related to women physicians and the health issues female patients face. Texas Medicine asked several female physicians what it means to be a woman in medicine in 2019.

Friday Deadline to Apply for Women in Medicine Leadership - 08/14/2019

The Texas Medical Association’s Women in Medicine Section will hold its first organizational meeting at the TMA 2019 Fall Conference in September, and you are encouraged to apply for a leadership position within the new section. To apply for a leadership position, submit a CV and letter of interest by Aug. 16.

Texan Continues String of Woman AMA Presidents - 08/02/2019

After 151 years of all-male leadership at the American Medical Association, a family physician from Texas broke through the glass ceiling on June 17, 1998. Twenty-one years later, another Texas physician is set to become the AMA’s sixth woman president – and its third in a row.

AMA Taps Texas Physician As Next President - 06/10/2019

Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, an allergist from Fort Worth, was unanimously elected today by the American Medical Association House of Delegates to be the next AMA president. “Challenging times remain for our health care system,” she told the delegates