"Women have always been healers. They have helped one another through the birthing process, nursed the sick and wounded, and sought cures for illnesses and injuries. This book summarizes the lives of 240 significant or representative women who have engaged in the "core" professions of mid-wifery, nursing, and medicine (exclusive of psychiatry), and whose careers were primarily spent in the United States and Canada, from colonial times to the present.".

"For the high school or college student, this book will serve as an introduction to the lives of these remarkable healers. The women's stories may inspire further pursuit of the subject and may even motivate readers to become healers themselves. Women's Studies scholars, biographers, and historians of science, medicine, or nursing will find the biographies useful starting points for a more in-depth examination of the role of women in the field of healing.

Each biography provides references for deeper exploration and study."--BOOK JACKET.