Empowering women in medicine
Financial Aid and Education
In the 1950s, only about 5% of all physicians in the United States were women. Estherina Shems-Schotland was among them.
Defying her very strict father, who told her repeatedly that it was not fit for a woman to pursue an education, much less a medical degree, Shems-Schotland grew up to be an independent, no-nonsense, pragmatic woman committed to becoming a doctor.
“She was tough, rebellious, and crusty,” says her nephew Ron Shems, “but once you broke through her hard exterior shell, she was very sweet and had a great sense of humor.”
Shems-Schotland chose to follow in her family’s footsteps—her father, uncle, and all of her male cousins were doctors. After earning a Bachelor of Science from Lynchburg College and her MD from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, she would make her mark on the world of child psychiatry, culminating in 45 years of service.
Sadly, Shems-Schotland died in 2022. A recent bequest of nearly $1.4 million from her estate creates an endowed scholarship fund at Harvard Medical School in honor of her late husband, Donald Lewis Schotland, AB ’52, MD ’57.
While Shems-Schotland’s passion was psychiatry, her husband’s was neurology. After graduating from HMS, Schotland did his residency and a fellowship at Columbia University. He then worked at the University of Pennsylvania for about 40 years, retiring as a professor of neurology. He remained connected to HMS through annual donations and frequent visits, especially to attend Reunion.
The couple took pride in bettering the lives of patients and felt immense satisfaction helping others. In drafting their wills, they expressed their wish that their legacies would enable aspiring medical students to fulfill their calling of serving others. Shems-Schotland was particularly interested in supporting women.
The Donald Lewis Schotland, M.D., Class of 1956 Endowed Scholarship Fund will provide financial assistance to an HMS MD student member of the Joint Committee on the Status of Women (JCSW), an organization founded in 1973 that is committed to the advancement of women in the medical profession. Any faculty member, postdoc, staff member, or student at or affiliated with HMS or the Harvard School of Dental Medicine is welcome to join.
Laurence G. Rahme, MSc, PhD, an HMS professor of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and faculty co-chair of the JCSW, says, “Generous donations like this bequest help break down barriers, promote equality, and empower the next generation of medical leaders to innovate and transform health care for everyone.”