Bath1

Patricia Bath

  • Patricia Bath's Birth

    Patricia Bath was born in New York City to loving parents who will encourage her to be different and to follow her dreams.
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    The Life and Accomplishments of Patricia Bath

  • College Education

    College Education
    After graduating from high school in only two years, Bath headed to Hunter College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1964. She then attended Howard University to pursue a medical degree.She graduated from Howard's University in 1968.
  • Residency

    Residency
    In 1973, Patricia Bath became the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology.
  • UCLA

    UCLA
    In 1975, Patricia Bath became the first female faculty member in the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute's Department of Ophthalmology.
  • Prevention of Blindness

    Prevention of Blindness
    In 1976, Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that "eyesight is a basic human right."
  • Laserphaco Probe

    Laserphaco Probe
    In 1981, Bath invented the surgical tool that made her famous: the Laserphaco Probe, which she continued to perfect and later patented in 1988.
  • Training Program

    Training Program
    In 1983, Patricia Bath became the first U.S. woman to serve as chair of an ophthalmology residency training program.
  • Patents

    Patents
    In 1988, Patricia Bath became the first African-American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
  • Hall of Fame

    Hall of Fame
    She was elected to the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 1988 and named Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine in 1993.
  • Retirement

    Retirement
    In 1993, Bath retired from UCLA Medical Center and was appointed to the honorary medical staff. After that, she advocated for telemedicine, the use of electronic communication to provide medical services to remote areas where health care is limited. She has held positions in telemedicine at Howard University and St. George's University in Grenada.
  • Patricia Bath's Death

    Patricia Bath passed away in California