Walking Out on the Boys

In May 1991, Frances K. Conley, the first female tenured professor of neurosurgery in the country, made headline news when she resigned from Stanford University to protest the medical school's unabashed gender discrimination. In this controversial, forthright memoir, Conley portrays the world of academic medicine in which women are still considered inferior; she also explains why, as a consequence, the research and treatment of women's health problems lag far behind those of men. In assessing why women's careers and psyches are suffering, Conley provides a first-person look into what it is like to be an accomplished woman within this restrictive medical world, offering invaluable advice to patients and future doctors alike.

Frances K. Conley is a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and chief of staff at the Palo Alto Veterans Health Care System. She lives in Woodside, California.

"A horrifying look at macho medicine in action--and Conley fears that real change remains elusive. Don't see a new doctor without reading her story first."--Laura Shapiro, Newsweek

"Everyone involved--from nurses and premeds to medical students, residents, and faculty--ought to read this book."--Margaret W. Rossiter, Journal of the American Medical Association