An unwavering trailblazer for women in healthcare, Dr. Maude Abbott helped pave the path for future generations of women in the health industry. The first woman to obtain a bachelor’s degree in arts at McGill University, Abbott dreamed of attending medicine at McGill but was denied during a time when women were not accepted. Settling at a different school, she graduated with her medical degree in 1894 and started her own practice in 1897 to treat women and children in Montréal. This was also the time she began studying heart disease. By the early 1900s, Abbott was a world-renowned expert on heart defects in children, earning an honorary medical degree from McGill University. She contributed to William Osler’s System of Medicine and created The Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease, which would become a life-saving resource. She also helped found the Federation of Medical Women of Canada, solidifying her place as a champion for women in healthcare. Sources: @cdnencyclopedia @cdnmedhallfame @canadashistory