Celebrating Women in Science: The Legacy of Dr. Ida Scudder

Remembering Ida Scudder, MD

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

The United Nations has designated February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day honors the contributions of women and girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. This is an opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge the strides that have been made, while recognizing that a lot of work remains to be done in the areas of gender equality and equal access to science education.

More specifically, this celebration aims to

• • Encourage girls’ equal access to STEM education
  • Promote women’s involvement in scientific study and invention
  • Remove gender biases in science education
  • Reinforce world policies for gender-inclusive scientific growth and
  • Encourage next generation female scientists

“STEM” can also be spelled “STEMM,” where the second “M” stands for medicine, so this is a great opportunity to reflect on the contributions of women to the field of medicine. The rest of this essay is focused on the story and legacy of Ida Scudder, MD, founder of the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India.

Ida Sophia Scudder (1870-1960)

Ida Scudder was born in India to American missionaries. Her father and grandfather were medical missionaries, and she was determined not to follow in their footsteps. Then, while visiting her parents in Vellore, India after her graduation from Northfield Seminary in Massachusetts, she had a life-changing experience. In one night, three men had come separately to ask her to help their wives who were in labor. Ida could not help them due to her lack of medical training at the time and due to the local customs, they would not allow her physician father to treat their wives. All three women died that night, essentially for lack of a female physician. Ida took this as a call from God and decided that she would become a doctor and return to India to help the women of that country. She graduated from Cornell Medical College in 1899, part of the first class that accepted women. After graduation, she returned to India and started roadside dispensaries, a nursing school and eventually, a medical school to train female doctors.

The above is an excerpt from my book “Girls Become Doctors and Much More,” published in 2025. Since the book includes profiles of several women physicians, it doesn’t have too many details about Dr. Scudder’s experiences. She faced significant challenges in bringing medical education to the women of India, some of which are shared below.

Seeking permission for a medical school for women

After spending five years thinking and talking about her vision, Ida went to the Surgeon General of Madras and asked for permission to start a medical school for Indian women. The Surgeon General’s response?

“You will be fortunate if you get three applications, but if you get six, go ahead and start your school.”

Dr. Scudder went ahead with her plans and got more than six applications. In fact, there were 151

applications and that number doubled the following year.

Female medical students outperform and the Surgeon General changes his tune

When it was time for the first class of medical students at the Vellore Medical College to take the

provincial exams, a British official told Dr. Ida (as she was known):

                      “Don’t be disappointed if all your young women fail.”

Ida responded with a smile. Her faith must have inspired her students – all 14 of them passed. In comparison, of the 400 men who took the same provincial exam, only one in five passed. Vellore students won four first-class honors, a prize in obstetrics and an anatomy medal.

The Surgeon General changed his tune:                

        “We fear that the girls are setting too high a standard for the men!”                                                                                                             

Dr. Scudder’s school later became known as the Christian Medical College (CMC) and started accepting men in 1947. Today, CMC Vellore is ranked one of India’s top medical schools and offers numerous courses in medical, nursing and allied health professions.

For more inspiring stories of women in medicine, check out my book, “Girls Become Doctors and Much More.”

Author’s Note: I was privileged to visit the Christian Medical College in Vellore as a medical student in 2006. You can read about my experiences in “Girls Become Doctors and Much More.”

Sources:

https://ngofeed.com/blog/international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-science/

https://calendaroftheday.com/1684-international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-science.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_290.html