Mother of Four Becomes MD

              12E The Pensacola News-Journal Sunday, April 7, 1968
Mother of Four Becomes MD
By MARG HENLEY
News-Journal Staff Writer
Why should a woman let 17 years of marriage and
the birth of four children stop her from becoming a medical
doctor?
Dr. Mary Woo'd didn't.
The mother got her degree in 1966 and recently finished
interning in the Pensacola Education Program.
She is the wife of Dr. Charles Wood, who teaches pharma-cology
at the University of Arkansas Medical School, Little
Rock, and she was one of his students while working toward
her degree.
"He graded me very strictly," she said.
* * *
The Wood family is residing at 209 Rio Vista, Pensacola
Beach, While Dr. Charles Wood is doing research at the
U.S. Naval Aerospace Medical Center.
The Woods have a son, Charles, 8 1/2, and three daughters,
Ann, 11; Lucy, 13, and Marie, 14.
How do they feel about having a mother who is a
medical doctor?
"The children are not impressed," said their mother.
"But they think it's interesting because other children are
Interested.
"One of the hazards of the white uniform is that we
are often mistaken for other people," said Dr. Mary Wood.
"It's not uncommon for patients to want me to get. a
bed pan for them, and when I go to the drug store, people
ask me directions, thinking I work there.
"Sometimes I have seen patients for several days and
then they want to know when the doctor is coming in,"
she said.
* * *
What are patients' reactions when they realize they
are being seen by a woman doctor?
"Men and women are both surprised," said Dr. Wood.
"THE women seem relieved, but men are a little apprehen-sive.
Some men are quite taken back and obviously embar-rassed,
but others get a kick out of it as something to
talk to the boys about.
"An emergency room patient with a personal problem
sometimes decides to come back later," said Dr. Wood.
"Sometimes t'hey come back later and I am still there."
* * *
Dr. Wood is not the first woman in her family to
become a doctor. She has an aunt in internal medicine.
"More women should go into medicine," said Dr. Wood.
"Women are particularly suited for care type professions
that involve helping other people. Medicine should not be
exclusively a male field."
She quickly added that "Women who go into medicine
have an obligation to use their training even if they marry
and have children. Otherwise, it doesn't justify their taking
a place in medical school that a man might have had."
"Women have a big advantage in the field of pediatrics,"
said the mother of four. "They are sympathetic to children
and children are responsive to them."
* * *
The Woods came to Pensacola in September and plan
to leave the end of May. He has a professorship at the
new Medical Center to be in Shreveport, La., and she
plans to get a residency in radiology in Shreveport.
"We love Pensacola and will hate to leave the water
and beach," said Dr. Wood. "Pensacola has a good teaching
program for interns. All of the doctors here have been most
helpful."
For women who are interested in going to medical
school, Dr. Wood has this to say:
"The barriers are down now. Anyone who is qualified
can go to medical school. Women can keep it that way
by fulfilling their obligation and making their training pro-ductive.
"I think anyone can go through medical school and make
it," said Dr. Wood. "Keeping a family circle together re-quires
more thought. I went through school one year at
a time.
"My husband decides where he wants to go and I
follow. In our case it's usually simple because he's usually
teaching in a medical center," she said.