Bain, Ruth

Biography

Dr. Ruth Bain (1919–2011) was born in Centerville, Texas. She did her undergraduate study at the Texas State College for Women. Bain attended the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and graduated in 1942. After interning St. Louis City Hospital in Missouri, she completed a residency at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. In 1951, she entered private practice in Austin where she worked for thirty-nine years.

Bain also actively participated in the Travis County Medical Society. She served as its secretary-treasurer from 1958–61, and in 1962 was elected its president—the first woman to be elected to that office. Bain also served as past president of the local chapter of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians (1982–83). She served as a member of the board of directors of the Travis Country Medical Society Foundation and as a member of the District Review Committee of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. This last office was an appointment by Governor Dolph Briscoe. 

Texas 150 Oral History

Bain describes how the medical field and opportunities for female doctors have changed over the span of her career, especially in Austin, Texas. Bain briefly discusses growing up in Centerville, attending college at the Texas State College for Women, and going to medical school at the University Medical Branch in Galveston. Beyond talking about being a woman in medical school, Bain shares her experiences working at Brackenridge Hospital and starting her private practice in Austin. She later recalls her participation in a number of medical societies, including the Travis County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association, as well as the state of healthcare and insurance in the United States.