One woman helped develop the Pap smear to detect cervical cancer.

Another served as one of the first delegates to the World Health Organization.

A third became the first female editor of the Journal of American Medical Association.

The pictures and stories of these female physicians, who have changed history and fought for women's rights to be in medicine, can be found at the Natrona County Library's new exhibit, "Changing the Face of Medicine: Honoring America's Women Physicians."

Since Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate with an M.D. in 1849, women have been making breakthroughs and a difference in medicine despite discrimination.

The exhibit conveys those struggles and triumphs.

It took three years for the Natrona County Public Library to secure the traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine, said Kate Mutch, public services librarian.

Wyoming's physician shortage is one of the main reasons the library wrote a grant to get the exhibit, she said.

"Maybe we will stir some interest of kids in school, male or female," Mutch said. "Nationwide, there are still more male doctors than female and we might be able to spur some competition."

Maybe a girl from Casper can find the cure for cancer or develop a vaccine for HIV.

The library wanted the exhibit here in Casper because Wyoming is the Equality State and the city has a strong medical community, said Brenda Thomson, community relations coordinator for the library.

The exhibit consists of timeline telling the history of women in medicine, starting with Blackwell and ending with women in today's military.

"Women have always been healers," the timeline begins - but it shows the hardships they encountered as well.

"It talks a lot about a woman's right to go to med school," Thomson said. "They really had to fight for this. It truly was a man's profession."

Computer kiosks allow people access to the stories of other female physicians from around the country. Librarians have assembled a collection of autobiographies of female physicians.

The exhibit will remain in Casper until April 8.

Throughout the next month, the library will host several events where female physicians from the state will speak to the community.

"It's amazing what women have to sacrifice throughout the whole timeline," Mutch said. "But before the '40s, the sacrifice was so great, the way they were treated. They had to sit in the corner of the classroom and they were lucky to have a textbook."

Visit the exhibit's Web site for more information or to explore http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/.

Contact health reporter Allison Rupp at (307) 266-0534 or allison.rupp@trib.com.

Honor your female physician

Opening Reception: March 4, 6:30 p.m.

Diane Mattern, a nurse practitioner in the military, will share what it is like to be a medical provider in the military, another male-dominated field.

Introduction to Medical Resources Online: March 12, 1 p.m.

Medicine in Far Places: March 25, 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Cindy Works, a Casper physician, will talk about her experiences working in places starved for health care. She worked as a physician in Africa.

Female Physicians of the 19th Century: April 8, 7:00 p.m.

Carol Lee Bowers, an archivist at the University of Wyoming, will talk about the beginnings of women in medicine.