In telling the history of women in medicine, the pioneers (especially the turbulent ones) are rightly remembered and celebrated in books, articles, memorials, awards, names of buildings, and organizations – even in stone statues and memorials. In contrast, the generation who began the transition from minority status to the current numerical equity are seldom memorialized, yet without the efforts of these few determined women in what was unambiguously a male profession, the achievements of these pioneers could easily have withered.

This book is written to celebrate this unique generation of women who entered medicine between the Second World War and the early 1970s – determined women who just wanted to be doctors but ended up fundamentally changing the profession. Utilizing oral histories from 37 women who became physicians between 1948 and 1975, these women tell their stories in their own words and provide a valid picture of their experiences throughout their careers that has much resonance for those entering or practicing medicine today.

Women in Medicine: Stories from the Girls in White will be of interest to all health professionals or those considering entering health professions, particularly women, and their advisers and supporters, to medical educators, and to medical historians seeking to understand the progress of women in medicine and other professions since the end of WWII.

Dr. Walling is a 1971 graduate of the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine in Scotland. Following rotating internships in Dundee Teaching Hospitals, she completed postdoctoral training in London and was elected Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FFPHM) in 1978. Since joining the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1981, Dr. Walling has been a practicing family physician with academic roles that have included clerkship director and vice-chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and director of the schoolwide standardized patient program. Becoming the first associate dean for faculty affairs and professional development in 1998, she supervised reorganization of the promotion and tenure system, bylaws revisions, and faculty development. She was deeply involved in three successful institutional re-accreditations, several curricular reforms and multiple major institutional projects. Since focusing on the Wichita campus in 2002, Dr. Walling has been responsible for faculty affairs/professional development, taught in geriatrics and family medicine clerkships, and provided care to frail elderly patients.
Dr. Walling has received major teaching awards at the departmental, school and university level. She was twice director of the national conference on medical student education of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) and served on that organization’s board of directors as secretary-treasurer. She has presented regularly at national conferences of STFM, AAMC, GFA and other organizations. Dr. Walling has twice served as a member of LCME site visit teams to other institutions. She has published 145 peer-reviewed articles, about 25 book chapters, and several monographs. Her book, Academic Promotion for Clinicians was published in 2018. Dr, Walling has been an associate editor for American Family Physician since 1989 and is a reviewer for several major journals. Her 25 major grants total about $25m and she has been a reviewer for federal and other funding agencies. Moving to emerita status in 2017 enables Dr. Walling to focus on coaching faculty members in career development and scholarship. Her current research projects concern student experiences in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and issues for senior women physicians.