From early childhood I aspired to be a healer. I admired and was encouraged by my family doctor who was also my neighbor and a family friend.

Dr. Lila Stein Kroser was at once a solo-practice local family doctor in northeastern Philadelphia and a leader in national and international medicine. She was one of few physicians to have held local, state, national, and international presidencies in organized medicine. Dr. Kroser was past president of both the Medical Women's International Association (MWIA), a nongovernmental branch of the United Nations, and the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA).

Dr. Kroser was a cum laude graduate of Temple University, and graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1957, where she was the Lois Mattox Miller fellow in preventive medicine. Dr. Kroser was committed to organized medicine, the empowerment of women physicians, advocacy for women's health issues, and the importance of good patient-physician relationships. She was the only physician featured in the book America's New Women Entrepreneurs, and authored "The Growing Influence of Women in Medicine," a chapter in Future Practice Alternatives published in 1993.

A fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Kroser founded Friends of the American Medical Women's Association in 1977. In 1999, she was awarded the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal, AMWA's most prestigious honor, given to a female physician who has achieved recognition as a leader in women's health, influenced the role of women in medicine, and made exceptional contributions to the image and empowerment of women in medicine.

Dr. Lila Stein Kroser also had the distinction of being the third woman in 150 years to become president of the Philadelphia County Medical Society and was the second woman to serve as president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians.

In addition to her private practice, Dr. Kroser was a clinical assistant professor at Hahnemann School of Medicine (Medical College of Pennsylvania). She and her husband, family physician Al Kroser, had three children and were the proud parents of two doctors and a lawyer.

What was my biggest obstacle?

Lack of encouragement of a male dominated profession and little or no support of teachers or student peers as well as a lack of women as role models.

How do I make a difference?

I make a difference by wearing multiple "hats"—physician, wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, mentor, political activist, and above all patient advocate.

Who was my mentor?

Katharine Boucot Sturgis, M.D., my professor of Preventive and Community Medicine at Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in Philadelphia.

How has my career evolved over time?

Full-time family physician—including house calls and hospital rounds—to a focus on organized medicine with presidential experiences in multiple organizations at the local, state, national, and international levels.