Women in Science

Elizabeth Blackwell had no interest in medicine until a friend of hers died
from what was most likely uterine cancer. Her friend said she might have
experienced less pain and suffering if only she had had a female doctor.
This put Elizabeth on the path to becoming the first woman medical
doctor in the United States.
Elizabeth was born into a family of abolitionists in 1821, with an upbringing that valued justice and equality. While working as a school teacher, she was mentored by male doctor friends and read books from their medical libraries. Although many didn’t believe it was possible, she was accepted into Geneva Medical College.
Medical school is hard for any student, but Elizabeth faced additional challenges. Often met with hostility, she had to sit separately from the male students, and her teachers were embarrassed by her presence during anatomy lessons. When asked to leave a lecture about reproduction to protect her “delicate sensibilities,” she argued her way into staying. During the summer she worked in a hospital in Philadelphia and saw how the hospital conditions contributed to the spread of infectious disease. The experience inspired her thesis on how good hygiene could prevent the spread of typhus. In 1849, she graduated from Geneva Medical College, first in her class.
Elizabeth’s sister, Emily, also became a doctor. Together with Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, they opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children in 1857. It was a place for the poor to get treatment and for female medical students and nurses to learn.
In the 1800s, there was little known about communicable diseases, and hand-washing was not mandatory for doctors like it is today. It was very common for doctors to go straight from treating someone with the flu to delivering a baby without even washing up. This caused the spread of diseases like typhus. Elizabeth realized that “prevention is better than cure,” and in her lectures she advocated for better hygiene standards in hospitals and homes. Elizabeth went on to found the Woman’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary in 1868 and the London School of Medicine for Women around 1874. An inspiration to many women, she also made it possible for many of them to become doctors.