Essay On Patricia Bath

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Patricia Bath is a very honorable and talented African American who helped bring the gift of eyesight to those who are blind. Her most famous accomplishments include the invention of the Laserphaco Probe, a device used for removing cataracts and her creation of the “Community Ophthalmology”, a new field of study.Thanks to Dr. Bath, there is still hope that people who who are blind can still see. Dr. Patricia Era Bath was born on November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York to Rupert and Gladys Bath. Rupert was from an immigrant from Trinidad who was the first black motorman for the New York Subway System, a merchant seaman, and also a newspaper columnist. Gladys was a descendant of African slaves and Cherokee Native Americans and worked as a housewife. …show more content…

At age sixteen, Patricia was one of the very few students who got a scholarship from the National Science Foundation to go to Summer Institute in Biomedical Science at Yeshiva University in New York where she worked on a project studying the relationship between cancer, nutrition, and stress. Patricia then went to Hunter College in 1964 and got a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry. Then she pursued a medical degree from Howard University College of medicine. She graduated with honors and also won the Edwin J. Watson Prize for Outstanding Student in Ophthalmology. She then interned at Harlem Hospital from 1968 to 1969. Then, in 1970, Patricia finished a residency in ophthalmology from Columbia University. After her residency, she completed her training at New York University in 1973. During this period, Patricia married Dr. Benny J. Primm and had a baby, Eraka in 1972. Phew! That was a lot of …show more content…

This device took more than five years to research and create. Here how it works: The probe is inserted in a small opening in the eye. The laser energy pulverizes the cataract (a mushy mark in the eye that makes it harder to see and is mostly seen in people over the age of sixty). The Laserphaco Probe makes it less painful to do cataract-removing compared to the old method (manually grinding the cataract. Ouch!) This device has restored the vision of people that have been blind for thirty years. Wow! This is mind-blowing!! In addition to this sight-saving invention, Dr. Bath co-founded the AiPB(American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness) in 1976 when Patricia went on many trips to save vision. Her personal best as stated in an interview is when she went to North Africa and gave back the vision to a lady who had been blind for thirty years. “Eyesight is a Basic Human Right” is the AiPB’s motto. Also, Patricia has created “Community Ophthalmology” a new study of Ophthalmology.

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