Medicine

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Collection

Sadie Shapiro

Sadie Shapiro was an American-Jewish medical social worker who made pioneering contributions to the field of rehabilitation. She developed a novel service for wounded soldiers during World War II that integrated medical care, rehabilitation, and occupational retraining. Regarded as the nation’s top expert in the field of medical social work, Shapiro was hired by the AJJDC to oversee medical social services among Holocaust survivors in the DP camps of Europe.

Collage with Image of Gisella Perl

Lessons From Gisella Perl, Reflections on the Texas Abortion Ban

Sarah Gorbatov

Holocaust survivor and doctor Gisella Perl's story has long been unsung; learning her story can serve all of us in our struggle for reproductive rights today.

Helene Hines on her handcycle

This Year, Resolve to Be More like This Badass Woman

Madisen Siegel

Whenever she heard ‘no,’ Helene Hines pushed back—and proved everyone wrong.

Episode 70: Jane: Abortion Before Roe

"Pregnant? Don't want to be? Call Jane." That was the catchphrase of the Chicago-based Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation, better known as Jane. Before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal, the women of Jane provided safe, illegal, and affordable abortions to nearly 12,000 women in the Chicago area until seven "Janes" were arrested in 1972. In this episode of Can We Talk?, we hear from Jeanne Galatzer-Levy and Judith Arcana, two of the "Abortion Seven," as well as Jane founder Heather Booth.

Selma Browde

Selma Browde is a medical doctor and activist whose passionate work and advocacy on behalf of disadvantaged communities in South Africa spans more than half a century.

Image of Rowan Jimenez Singing, wearing hat and sunglasses.

The Privilege of Health and Healthcare: A Tribute to Rowan Jiménez

Dahlia Plotkin-Oren

Since Rowan's passing, I've learned about how lacking the United States is when it comes to healthcare accessibility.

Composite Image of Vaccination and Scripture

What Do Jewish Ethics Say about Vaccination?

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

During this stage of the pandemic, we can turn to Jewish ethics for guidance on vaccination.

Topics: Medicine

Barbara Seaman

Muckraking journalist Barbara Seaman survived a tumultuous childhood in New York City to become a bestselling author, a prominent second wave feminist, and, as a founder of the women’s health movement, an architect of informed consent. A lifelong scourge to the pharmaceutical industry, Seaman exposed the dangers of the high-dose birth control pill, hormone replacement therapy, and male doctors’ hubris.

Sally Gottesman

Sally Gottesman, born 1962 in New Jersey and residing in New York, is a non-profit entrepreneur whose leadership and philanthropy have had a major impact on the Jewish feminist and justice landscape.

"Women and Their Bodies" Coursebook, 1970

Revisiting Medical History: The Women's Health Movement and COVID-19

Jillian M. Hinderliter

Looking to the history of medicine can help us grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mask illustration

Tackling Intergenerational Trauma during a Pandemic

Dr. Jamie Ehrenpreis

A pediatrician on the front lines discusses social distancing from her family and intergenerational trauma during Coronavirus.

Topics: Medicine

Episode 29: BRCA: A Jewish Legacy (Transcript)

Episode 29: BRCA: A Jewish Legacy (Transcript)

Episode 29: BRCA: A Jewish Legacy

One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews carries the BRCA genetic mutation, which is strongly linked to breast and ovarian cancer. In this Episode of Can We Talk?, we explore the legacy of BRCA-linked cancers among Ashkenazi Jewish women. We discuss the difficult choice of whether to get tested for the mutation, how to interpret the results, and what to do next. Host Nahanni Rous talks with a mother-daughter team on a mission to fight breast cancer, a genetic counselor who has helped thousands of women grapple with genetic test results, and a survivor of ovarian cancer.

Emmy Noether and Martine Rothblatt

Female Heroes in STEM: Emmy Noether and Martine Rothblatt

Shira Minsk

Female leaders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are few and far between, and Jewish female role models in those fields are even harder to find. Emmy Noether and Martine Rothblatt are superheros whose hard work and intellect propelled them to defy the odds and make contributions to the world that will outlive them.

Red Rope Stock Image

Ritual and Obsessions

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler

“This is the part of your brain that holds your obsessive-compulsive disorder,” she said, her tone firm. “We can fray this cord, but we can’t just break it.” ... I imagined a dark red cable, floating somewhere in the space between my ears, demanding my attention every waking moment of the day. In light of Passover approaching, it seemed particularly cruel that I found myself struggling with the concept of freedom.

Episode 21: TRYmester: Lifting the Silence on Infertility

Infertility is seldom discussed openly in a tradition that prioritizes children and families, but many Jewish adults struggle with it, and isolation compounds the painful experience. With a new theater piece called TRYMESTER, Naomi Less is working to de-stigmatize infertility and build support for families going through it. This episode is the second in our series exploring infertility in the Jewish community. It was funded in part by the UJA Federation of New York to support awareness of fertility challenges.
Unrest and Rivka Composite Image

A Woman Who Dared, with ME

Rivka Solomon

It was late afternoon, and I could barely get my body out of bed. It wasn't that I lacked the desire to get up or that my limbs couldn't function. I just didn't have the cellular energy to power up my muscles. I couldn't do anything except lie flat. Even that was exhausting. This state of sheer debilitation was not new to me. And it hadn't been going on for days or weeks. It had been a decade.

Rising Voices Fellow Isabel Kirsch and her Grandmother

L'Dor Vador: Lessons from my Grandmother

Isabel Kirsch

My grandmother, Marguerite, was born in Paris in 1937 to Polish parents, Fania and Adam. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Jarnac, a tiny village in southwestern France. The family was Jewish, though they were not observant. Regardless, after the fall of the Third Republic in 1940, it became dangerous for them to even speak of their religion. 

Topics: Holocaust, Medicine
Rising Voices Fellow Maya Jodidio with her Aunt

Because There's More to Russian Jews than Borscht

Maya Jodidio

My aunt and I share so much more than our smile, passion for math and science, and college (go Barnard!). Our strongest and arguably our most important similarity lies in our shared sense of civic responsibility. Although I still have more to learn about social justice work, my aunt is the perfect model of a passionate, hard-working, and persevering activist.

Grey's Anatomy Cast

Doctor, Doctor! How Shonda Rhimes Changed My Perception of Medicine

Madisen Siegel

When someone says “doctor,” the first person that pops into my head is Meredith Grey. Yes, she may be a fictional doctor, but she’s the first doctor who inspired me to look into medicine as a possible career choice.   

Topics: Television, Medicine

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman spent years crafting novels that explored relationships and magical realism before the “overnight” success of 1995’s Practical Magic catapulted her to success.

Ethel Shilmover Grossman

While serving as a member of the Army Nurse Corps in WWII, Ethel Shilmover Grossman was moved and astonished to see the kindness with which American soldiers treated wounded German POWs.

Clara Raven

After a distinguished military career as one of the first female doctors to serve in WWII, Clara Raven went on to do pioneering research on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Flossie Cohen

Flossie Cohen pushed the boundaries of pediatric medicine throughout her career, from providing bone marrow transplants to creating a pediatric AIDS center.

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