Virginia Apgar (1909 – 1974), a physician and humanitarian, is best known for developing the Apgar Score (1952), a system for determining whether a newborn infant needs special medical attention to stay alive.
At a time when few women even attended college, Virginia Apgar was determined to make medicine her life's work. She was one of the few women admitted to Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in the 1930s. After graduating in 1933, she became one of the first American women to specialize in surgery. Apgar found it difficult to practice in this predominantly male field, however, so on the advice of her advisor, she decided to study the developing field of anesthesiology.
In 1939, Virginia Apgar received her Board Certification from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, becoming the second woman to get this diploma. That same year, she was appointed anesthesiologist-in-chief at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, becoming the first woman to head a department there. In 1949, she became Columbia's first-ever full Professor of Anesthesiology.
Next, Virginia Apgar moved into obstetric anesthesia and became Attending Anesthesiologist at the Sloane Hospital for Women. Here, for ten years, she devoted herself to the evaluation of newborn children in the period immediately after delivery. The Apgar Score that she developed is determined by a simple test performed during the very first minutes of a baby's life. The test measures an infant's pulse, skin color, activity and respiration very quickly, enabling medical staff to intervene if help is needed. This simple but brilliantly-conceived examination has saved countless newborn lives.
Later, Virginia Apgar went on to hold several positions at the March of Dimes. She received many honors and awards for her work, and was featured on a U.S. postage stamp bearing her image. Each year, the American Academy of Pediatrics gives an honor called the Virginia Apgar Award in Perinatal Pediatrics.
Virginia Apgar died in 1974. On October 14, 1995 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.
Resources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_12.html
http://apgar.net/virginia/
http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/204.html
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