Helen Octavia Dickens
Personal Information
Born: 1909
Died: 2001
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: Black
Education
Crane Junior College; University of Illinois BS 1932; University of Illinois College of Medicine MD 1934; University of Pennsylvania Medical School Master of Medical Science 1943
Professional Life
Field of Study: Obstetrics & Gynecology
Institution/Corporation: University of Pennsylvania; Naval Air Development Center
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degrees: University of Pennsylvania (1982), Medical College of Pennsylvania (1979); Member: American Cancer Society, Children s Aid Society, American College of Obsteticians & Gynecologists, American College of Surgeons (1950)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: Gimbel Philadelphia Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity; Medical Woman of the Year; Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania; Daisy Lumpkin Award; Mercy Douglass Hospital Award; Sadie Alexander Award for Community Service, Delta Sigma Theta; 1986, Candace Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women; 1991, Dr. Helen O. Dickens Lifetime Achievement Award, Penn s Women of Color Celebration
Achievements: 1st African American woman admitted to the American College of Surgeons, 1950; 1946, certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology; led extensive research into teen pregnancy & sexual health issues, STDs; 1st African American board certified OB/GYN in Philadelphia 1945; founder & director of the Teen Clinic at University of Pennsylvania1967; instigated a program funded by the National Institute of Health to conduct pap tests on African American women; 1st African American woman to earn a Master of Medical Science at University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine; opened a cancer control clinic at Mercy-Douglass Hospital; 1965, 1st African American faculty member in the Dept of OB/GYN at Penn; 1st African American woman admitted to Fellowship in American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
see https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/cancer-detectives-helen-dickens/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_12023174&utm_Newsletter=American_Experience