User:KKluber/sandbox

Article Evaluation

The section titled "Life" in Agnodice's article seems to get a little derailed in the second paragraph. Maybe that information should be moved to a different section of the article. The article does a very good job of keeping a neutral position. I get a little confused on some of the information discussed in the second paragraph under "Historicity." I feel like some information could be better explained of discussed to make more sense. Also, I feel as though there could be more information under the section titled "Influence of women in medicine." There are only three sources used in the article which all seem to be neutral. The article is rated as having low importance by 4 of the 5 WikiProjects using it. It is still stub status and someone in the talk page states that they think it would be very difficult to expand on the topic, especially enough to a higher status.

Choosing Topic

I would like to contribute more to Margaret Allen's early life and to her personal life. It seems like a majority of the information is about her accomplishments after residency. Although absolutely incredible accomplishments, there is little said about her as a person throughout her life.

Improving the Existing Article

-Margaret and her father would gather critters they found outdoors and examine them under a microscope, as well as taking her on science-like trips.

-During her summer breaks from Swarthmore, she worked in a high-altitude biology lab in Crested Butte, Colorado studying animal’s nitrogen conserving abilities.

-Decided to go to University of California, San Diego for medical school because it was a new program that recruited professors from all over the country.

-While in medical school, Allen worked in a vascular surgeon’s lab who was implanting experimental hearts in cows. This introduced her to cardiothoracic surgery.

-She took a year to travel the world after her residency at King’s College Hospital and before starting her residency at Stanford University School of Medicine. During this time, she spent six months in New Guinea where she sought and received a medical license to practice in the country.

-During her Stanford residency, she helped a neighbor grad-student with her linguist project in which she was taught to communicate in sign language by a gorilla.

-She was described by coworkers as very tough, stubborn, but meticulous with her surgeries and extremely caring with her patients.

-In 1996, the chief of surgery at UW removed her as transplant director without explanation.

-She worked for UW for 15 years before suing for sex-discrimination

-In 2000, Allen filed a lawsuit against UW for sex-discrimination.

--Settled for $750,000, and she had to resign from UW as well as never do any research associated with UW or with UW grants

--The chief of surgery at the time, removed her as a transplant director in 1996 without any explanation

-First woman in the United States to transplant a heart.

-She was nominated as a Local Legend by Rep. Jim McDermott in 2003.

Milestones

-1985-1996: Founder and Director, University of Washington Medical Center Regional Cardiac Transplant Program

-1994: First female and first thoracic surgeon be elected national President of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)

-1998: Appointed Professor, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle

-2000: Appointed Medical Director, The Hope Heart Institute and Chair of Translational Medicine, Seattle

-2004: Becomes Full Member and Principal Investigator, The Hope Heart Program at the Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle

I really like how you're adding about her personal life in addition to more about what she is known for! It looks like you're on the right track and I cant wait to see the end result. Is there anything on why she chose to stick with cardiothoracic? I'm just curious. - ToyStoryAndy

Article Draft

Early Life

Allen was raised in Des Moines, Iowa, where she became interested in science at a young age. Her and her father would gather insects and things they found and examine them under a microscope. He would also take her on science-like trips to further her interest. After high school, she completed an undergraduate degree in zoology at Swarthmore College. During summer breaks from college, she worked in a high-altitude biology lab in Crested Butte, Colorado studying the nitrogen conserving abilities of different animals. She originally planned to study physiology in graduate school but thought that a medical degree would provide her with more career options.

Education

In 1970, Allen enrolled at the University of California San Diego to study become a Doctor of Medicine.^[1][2]  From the various medical schools that accepted her application, Allen chose UCDA because it was a brand new program that recruited professors from all over the country, which excited and appealed to her. While in medical school, Allen worked in a vascular surgeon’s lab. The surgeon was implanting experimental hearts in cows which introduced her to cardiothoracic surgery.

After graduating from medical school, Allen completed a five-year residency in general surgery at Oakland Medical Center (then the Kaiser Foundation Hospital) and a two-year residency in cardiothoracic surgery at King's College Hospital in London. She was selected to complete a five-year residency program at Stanford University School of Medicine. Before doing so, Allen took a year to travel the world, spending six months in Papua New Guinea practicing in the hospital as a licensed physician. Beginning her residency at Stanford in 1982, she trained under the tutelage of Norman Shumway, a pioneer in heart transplantation,^[2] and became the first woman in the world to transplant a heart.^[3]  During her residency, Allen helped a neighbor graduate student with her linguist project in which a gorilla taught her how to communicate in sign language. At the end of her residency in 1985, Allen joined the surgical faculty of the University of Washington.^[1] 

Career

She founded the University of Washington Medical Center's heart transplant, which was the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest region, and was the program director until 1996.^[2][4] She was awarded "Woman of the Year" by the International Women's Forum in 1990 and was named one of the "Best Doctors in America" for five consecutive years beginning in 1992. In 1994 she was elected national president of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the first woman to hold the position.^[4]. As the president, she conducted an organ allocation analysis, reduced the time waiting for transplants, and increased awareness of organ donation in minority communities. In 1995, she shared the computerized technology of matching donated organs for transplant patients in Smithsonian Institution Computerworld Award in Medicine.^[5] In 1996, the chief of surgery at UW removed her as the transplant director. Allen was appointed professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Washington in 1998.^[4] In 2000, however, she settled a sex-discrimination suit with the university, after having worked there for 15 years. She received a settlement of $750,000 US dollars, but was forced to resign from the cardiac transplant program and cease all of her research that has any tie to the University of Washington.^[3] She was the medical director of the Hope Heart Institute, a public health charity, where she was involved in several programs to promote heart disease prevention. State Representative Jim McDermott nominated Allen as a Local Legend in 2003. In 2004, the institute merged with the Benaroya Research Institute, where she became a member of the Hope Heart Matrix Biology Program.^[2]

References

References in the Margaret Allen article:

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d 
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b 
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b c 
4. Jump up^ "biography - Margaret Allen, MD (Washington)". www.nlm.nih.gov.