Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) was the first fully accredited female doctor in the US.
She and her sister Emily founded the first medical school for women, resulting in greater acceptance of female physicians, more opportunities for meaningful work for American women, and stricter standards for medical schools as a whole.
And that was only one part of her contributions to history.
...
Blackwell earned a living as a teacher from the time that her father died until her entry into medical school in 1847. She taught first with her mother and sisters in a private school which they established in Cincinnati and then, from 1845 to 1847, in Kentucky and the Carolinas. During this period, Blackwell became increasingly involved in reform movements. She resolved to become a physician, more as a means to achieve her ideals than as an end in itself. She pursued her goal of studying medicine privately while she was still teaching, first with John Dickson in Asheville, North Carolina and then with his brother, Samuel, in Charleston, South Carolina.
In May 1847 Blackwell moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the intention of entering medical school, even as she continued to study medicine privately. She was initially turned down by every school where she applied. She was finally accepted at Geneva College (later Hobart and William Smith Colleges) in Geneva, New York, actually as the result of a joke -- the administration was hesitant to admit her and threw the decision to the students, who laughingly said yes.
Blackwell encountered hostility as she began her studies in November of 1847, but she eventually became accepted by her classmates. She graduated first in her class on January 23, 1849. Upon her graduation she traveled to England, where she studied in hospitals in Birmingham and London. She then moved to Paris, France where she was forced to enroll as a student midwife in order to practice at La Maternité. While at La Maternité, she contracted a disease that eventually caused her to lose sight in one eye. Because of this loss, she was unable to pursue her dream of becoming a surgeon.
Blackwell returned to New York City in 1851. Because she was a woman she was barred from city dispensaries and hospitals and unable to rent appropriate quarters for her practice. In 1853 she finally opened a clinic in a poor section of the city, where she treated women and children. After a few years, she was joined by her sister Emily (now also a doctor) as well as Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska (who later founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children). By 1857 the women had expanded their clinic into a hospital -- the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. During her time in New York, Blackwell also adopted an orphan, Katherine Barry, who stayed with Blackwell throughout the rest of her life.
...
http://winningthevote.org/F-EBlackwell.htm
Blackwell earned a living as a teacher from the time that her father died until her entry into medical school in 1847. She taught first with her mother and sisters in a private school which they established in Cincinnati and then, from 1845 to 1847, in Kentucky and the Carolinas. During this period, Blackwell became increasingly involved in reform movements. She resolved to become a physician, more as a means to achieve her ideals than as an end in itself. She pursued her goal of studying medicine privately while she was still teaching, first with John Dickson in Asheville, North Carolina and then with his brother, Samuel, in Charleston, South Carolina.
In May 1847 Blackwell moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the intention of entering medical school, even as she continued to study medicine privately. She was initially turned down by every school where she applied. She was finally accepted at Geneva College (later Hobart and William Smith Colleges) in Geneva, New York, actually as the result of a joke -- the administration was hesitant to admit her and threw the decision to the students, who laughingly said yes.
Blackwell encountered hostility as she began her studies in November of 1847, but she eventually became accepted by her classmates. She graduated first in her class on January 23, 1849. Upon her graduation she traveled to England, where she studied in hospitals in Birmingham and London. She then moved to Paris, France where she was forced to enroll as a student midwife in order to practice at La Maternité. While at La Maternité, she contracted a disease that eventually caused her to lose sight in one eye. Because of this loss, she was unable to pursue her dream of becoming a surgeon.
Blackwell returned to New York City in 1851. Because she was a woman she was barred from city dispensaries and hospitals and unable to rent appropriate quarters for her practice. In 1853 she finally opened a clinic in a poor section of the city, where she treated women and children. After a few years, she was joined by her sister Emily (now also a doctor) as well as Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska (who later founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children). By 1857 the women had expanded their clinic into a hospital -- the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. During her time in New York, Blackwell also adopted an orphan, Katherine Barry, who stayed with Blackwell throughout the rest of her life.
...
http://winningthevote.org/F-EBlackwell.htm
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
