For more than a century, the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) has documented the evolving role of women in medicine through its journal publications. Used in the early days to promote medical education and share knowledge, promote job opportunities for women, or highlight women physician leaders across specialties, AMWA’s journals provide a rich and deep history of the contributions of women in medicine. These are the voices of generations of women who have helped shape modern healthcare.

Today, much of that history remains difficult to access. Many of these journals exist only as aging bound volumes or microfilm. Every year, AMWA gets requests for past publications from our flagship journal, the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association which was in print for most years during 1946 and 2005.

AMWA is embarking on a journal digitization project to both preserve and make accessible one of the most significant historical collections documenting women in medicine.

AMWA’s journals include 6 different publications:

  • Medical Woman’s Journal (1915 – 1922)
  • Bulletin of the Medical Women’s National Association (1922 – 1934)
  • Women in Medicine (1934 – 1946)
  • Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association (1946 – 1970, 1972 – 2005)
  • Woman Physician (1970-1972)
  • Journal of Women’s Health (2008-2012)

This project will involve curating or digitizing hundreds of journal issues from most of AMWA’s historic publications, creating a permanent, archive that will be available for researchers, educators, students, physicians, and the public. Fortunately, a few on-line repositories that include a part of these collections through the Internet Archive and Google Books.

For physicians and scientists, this repository will provide access to decades of research and commentary that remain relevant today. For medical historians, it offers a unique window into the professional experiences of women physicians across changing social and political landscapes. For students, it recounts the stories of trailblazing women, whose work helped open doors for future generations. And for AMWA, it preserves one of our greatest institutional assets while making our history accessible to a worldwide audience.

To get involved, contact [email protected] or join the Summer Internship Program.