WOMEN MEDICAL PIONEERS: DR. TENLEY ALBRIGHT

Dr. Tenley Albright’s passion for taking care of people and her fascination with hospitals and doctors began at a young age.

When her friends were hurt, she wanted to see how she could make them feel better. 

“I began to be interested in what doctors did, what hospitals were,” she said.

“Gradually and gradually, I became more interested – and particularly when I had polio, when I was about 10.”

Albright is one of the female physicians to be highlighted when the Rowland Medical Library hosts the traveling exhibition “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians,” March 7-April 8 at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center.

A native of Massachusetts and the daughter of a prominent surgeon, Albright had two ambitions – to be a doctor and to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. She began skating at 9 years of age, but met an obstacle when she was diagnosed with polio a year later.

For months, she could not move her leg, back or neck. But in 1946, she returned to the ice and at age 16, she won the first of five consecutive U.S. women’s singles titles in figure skating. In the same year, she won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway.

Albright entered Radcliffe College in 1953 to major in pre-med. She left after three years. In 1956, she became the first American woman to earn a gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy. A year later, she entered Harvard Medical School, earning her the MD in 1961.

                “When I came to Harvard Medical School, there were five of us women in a class of 135. Now, this year, our Harvard Medical School admissions are 56 percent women,” Albright said. “So, ‘changing the face of medicine’ is really true.”

Albright has three grown daughters and lives in Brookline, Mass., with her husband, Gerald Blakeley. She practices general surgery in Boston and is currently a consultant to the National Library of Medicine’s Board of Regents, which she previously chaired. She also was the first woman to serve as an officer on the United States Olympic Committee.

“Dr. Albright is one of the most fascinating people I know,” said Dr. Wallace Conerly, UMC vice chancellor emeritus for health affairs. “Knowing her Olympic history is a story unto itself, but knowing her medical career history is just about more than I can fathom. And to think, one person accomplished all of this in one lifetime.

“It’s a great honor for me to have been on the board of regents of the National Library of Medicine with Dr. Albright and several other notable people with outstanding backgrounds.”

When asked how she makes a difference, Albright said the first thing that comes to mind is making a difference in one life at a time.

“Doing whatever I can to make a difference in one life, or one part of one life, and that motivates me to want to do more,” she said. “And anything I can do to make a bigger change – whether it’s helping to change attitudes or ways of doing things or just to encourage all of us to have sort of a sense of openness – that’s really what I’d like to do.”

Albright has received numerous awards and honors and in 1988 was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Association’s Hall of Fame.

“This exhibit demonstrates how so many women have been outstanding contributors to the field of medicine,” Conerly said. “Dr. Albright’s presence here at this exhibit is a fitting demonstration of her dedication to the advancement of science and medicine.

“We thank her for this dedication. We thank her for her presence at this exhibit. We thank her for her life’s commitment to leading by example.”

The traveling exhibition, “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians” was developed by the Exhibition Program of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. The exhibit has been made possible by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health. The American Medical Women’s Association provided additional support.

 — Jenny Woodruff

2008-01-28 00:00:00 17822