1957: New school of medicine graduates first woman

1957: New school of medicine graduates first woman

During its 70-year history, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has made contributions to the state, and the world, in medicine, science and education. Each month, we'll recognize at least one of these major accomplishments.

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In 1957, Dr. Nell J. Ryan became the first woman to graduate from the University of Mississippi Medical Center's new medical school, which had opened in 1955 in Jackson.

The Vicksburg native, a 1950 graduate of Millsaps College, completed her pediatrics internship at Vanderbilt University Hospital in 1958. She also undertook a rotating internship at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center before completing her residency at UMMC in 1960.

After her postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric cardiology in Oklahoma and a pediatric neurology residency at the Medical Center, she joined the Medical Center faculty in 1961 as a pediatrics instructor, eventually serving as an associate professor of pediatrics and an assistant professor of neurology.

A UMMC, Ryan also served as medical director of the Birth Defects Clinic, director of the Pediatric Outpatient Department and medical director of the infant care area. In 1983, she joined the LSU Medical Center at Shreveport, serving there on the pediatrics faculty and pediatrics faculty.

She was appointed representative for women in medicine to the Association of American Medical Colleges and director of the neonatal Comprehensive Care Clinic. In 1994, the LSU Medical Center at Shreveport named her professor emeritus of Pediatrics. Ryan died on Nov. 14, 2014; she was 86.