Marjorie Davis

Davis was born on February 13, 1912, in Franktown, Ontario.^[1] In 1935, she graduated from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine.^[2][3] She then began an internship at St Michael’s Hospital and the following year she joined Women’s College Hospital (WCH) as a Junior Interne.^[4] From 1937 to 1939, Davis travelled to New York City to complete an assistant residency in surgery at Bellevue Hospital.^[4][5] When she returned to Toronto, she became a surgical resident at Women's College Hospital until 1940.^[2] In 1942, she became the first woman to teach at the University of Toronto’s infamous Gallie program,^[6] a program inspired by William Edward Gallie that was a post-graduate training course in surgery and is still active today as the Gallie Course in General Surgery.^[4] In 1943, she completed her residency at Toronto General Hospital,^[2] thereby becoming the second woman to complete the residency program in surgery.^[7] In 1945, Davis received her certification in surgery and in 1947 she became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Canada.^[4] Davis, along with Jessie Gray, Jean Davey, and Geraldine Maloney were in the first group of women to name named as fellows.^[8]

Davis joined the staff of Women’s College Hospital in 1945.^[9] Prior to that, she worked for two years at Toronto General Hospital as a clinical teacher.^[4] After a period as the assistant head of surgery,^[10] she was Chief of Surgery at Women’s College Hospital from 1965 to 1976.^[4]

She retired as Chief of Surgery at Women’s College Hospital on June 30, 1976.^[4]

Davis died on Saturday May 18, 2002.^[4][11]

When she received her fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1947, she became the second woman in Canada to receive a fellowship in general surgery.^[4]

During her time at Women’s College Hospital, she became a member of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee.^[4]