Mary Bruins Allison
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Mary Bruins Allison (March 19, 1903 – September 15, 1994) was one of the first American women to be trained in
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to worked as a
missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
physician in Arabia. While attending medical college in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, she learned
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
. In 1934, she went to the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
to work as a missionary physician. In her forty-year long career, she worked primarily in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, as well as
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
and
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
. In her capacity in Kuwait, she treated rich and poor women. To be successful, she had to overcome a number of obstacles, including limited trained medical staff, insufficient medical resources, as well as barriers due to cultural, lingual and religious differences. She made significant contributions in establishing modern medical care in the countries where she worked; Allison was asked by the rulers of Bahrain and Oman to help establish hospitals in their countries. She returned to the United States in 1975.


Early life and education

On March 19, 1903, Mary Bruins was born in
Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...
to Henry Bruins and Mary Huizinga. In 1907, her father accepted a position as minister at the First Reformed Church in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. The Bruins family moved in 1917 to Pella, Iowa and she attended Pella High School. In the fall of 1922, she began her studies at Central College in Pella. She joined the
Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP) was founded in 1850, and was the second medical institution in the world established to train women in medicine to earn the M.D. degree. The New England Female Medical College had been establishe ...
in Philadelphia in the fall of 1928. In 1932, she interned at Wisconsin General Hospital in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
. She studied Arabic from 1933 to 1934 at Hartford Theological School. In 1934, she did her second internship at the
University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
in obstetrics.


Career


Kuwait

Allison arrived in Kuwait City, Kuwait in 1934. In the beginning, she studied Arabic in the mornings and then worked at the mission. The hospital was built land by the Kuwait Bay that was provided by Shaikh Mubarak, who had invited the Arabian Mission to run a hospital in the city. Due to cultural constraints, Allison generally treated women. Her patients were of all social classes, from the richest woman who was her first patient, to the poorest Kuwaiti women originally from Iran. Allison was required to first attend to the
VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...
, or aristocratic women, who she charged an extra fee for the convenience. It was a cultural norm for women to have their babies at their home or their mother's home, and professional medical attention was not sought unless there was a problem. This meant that when Allison handled deliveries, they were more likely to be due to prenatal complications. To treat these cases, Dr. Allison often needed to leave the hospital to make
house call A house call is medical consultation performed by a doctor or other healthcare professionals visiting the home of a patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is ...
s. Some women died due to complications in their homes. Over time, more pregnant women went to the hospital for prenatal care and delivery.


Several places

In 1940, Allison followed her husband to India, where she worked for two years. She then returned to the United States and worked at a medical practice in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. In 1943, she rejoined her husband in India, and despite their decision to divorce, she stayed and worked at Dahanu Mission Hospital till 1945. She decided to return to Kuwait because she preferred it there. In 1948, a request to establish a hospital in
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...
was made by the sheikh of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, where Allison worked for four months. In 1964, a
medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The neglige ...
complaint was filed against Allison; this subsequently led to the end of her career in Kuwait. She was transferred to Bahrain in 1964. Around 1967, the Church began to question why it conducted missions in areas where people were not converting to Christianity. Some board members of the Reformed Church Board further wondered why the church provided medical care to an oil rich country. In March 1967, the medical mission was closed.


Bahrain and Oman

By 1970, Allison had worked in Bahrain for five years and was over sixty-five years old, the
retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
age for a missionary.Church Policies on Missionary Retirement
Davidmays.org. Retrieved 8 January 2012 Reluctantly, she retired from Bahrain and returned to the U.S. In 1971, however, she received a call that said that the mission board requested that she work at the Mutrah Hospital in Oman. The Sultan wanted to run free hospitals but did not have sufficient medical staff. She treated many diseases, including
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
,
leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
and the cholera epidemic of 1974. She retired for the last time in 1974 and moved in 1975 to Redlands, California.


Personal life

She met her British husband Norman Allison in 1937. The two got married on June 14, 1937 and later divorced in 1943.


Death

Allison died on September 15, 1994.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Mary Bruins 1903 births 1994 deaths Physicians from Michigan Female Christian missionaries Christian medical missionaries American Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Kuwait Protestant missionaries in India Protestant missionaries in Qatar Protestant missionaries in Iran Protestant missionaries in Bahrain Protestant missionaries in Oman People from Holland, Michigan American expatriates in Kuwait 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians