H08: She Rose to the top: Rose Hirschler (1875–1940), one of the world’s first female dermatologists

Jacqueline Mullin and Aparna Vyas

Croydon University Hospital, London, UK

At the present time it is more common than not for your dermatologist to be a woman; in the UK in 2018, 60% of dermatology consultants were women. Yet this was not the case before the pioneering female doctors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dr Rose Hirschler was not only one of the earliest female dermatologists, but also went on to become a leader in the field of dermatology and helped pave the way for future generations of women to enter this specialty. Hirschler was born in 1875 in Butler, Indiana. She took an unconventional route into medicine, becoming a certified masseuse in Sweden in 1896. Following this, at a time when female doctors were scarce, she enrolled at the first medical college in the world established to educate and train female doctors, the Women’s Medical College in Pennsylvania (WMCP). Hirschler graduated with her MD degree in 1899, having had no previous undergraduate degree, and travelled to Europe to study dermatology (Reid E, James W. The history of dermatology at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Int J Womens Dermatol 2015; 1: 99–103). She later returned to Philadelphia to work with and be mentored by the eminent dermatologist, Jay F. Schamberg. Together, Hirschler and Schamberg published a number of dermatological papers on topics such as lichen sclerosis, skin cancer and syphilis. Hirschler later developed an interest in radiation therapy, coordinating the radiology department at WCMP. She is considered the first woman to recommend radiation for the treatment of acne vulgaris and skin cancer [Crissey J, Parish L, Holubar K. Historical Atlas of Dermatology and Dermatologists. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013 (e-book)]. In 1900 she began to teach at WCMP and in 1918 was appointed acting professor of dermatology while the original professor assisted in military service. This is thought to be one of the earliest examples of a woman teaching women in dermatology. Hirschler was the second woman ever certified by the American Board of Dermatology, and the only female founder of the American Academy of Dermatology. In 1936 she was chosen to be professor and chair of the dermatology department – the first woman in the world to be appointed this position; sadly, her tenure ended with her death in 1940 from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. As a woman ahead of her time, Hirschler’s contribution to dermatology and women in medicine was only celebrated in 1988 with the creation of the Rose Hirschler Award – an annual prize for outstanding female dermatologists.