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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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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.
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In 1973, Patricia Bath became the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology.
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In 1975, Patricia Bath became the first female faculty member in the UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute's Department of Ophthalmology.
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In 1976, Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that "eyesight is a basic human right."
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In 1981, Bath invented the surgical tool that made her famous: the Laserphaco Probe, which she continued to perfect and later patented in 1988.
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In 1983, Patricia Bath became the first U.S. woman to serve as chair of an ophthalmology residency training program.
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In 1988, Patricia Bath became the first African-American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
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She was elected to the Hunter College Hall of Fame in 1988 and named Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine in 1993.
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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.
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Patricia Bath passed away in California
