As a woman physician practicing in the 20th century, I was well aware of the hardships and the steep upward climb that others had made before me. One of those was our own cemeterian Mary Blackmar BRUSON (1842 - 1916)
Here I present the first of three posts telling of those women who influenced Dr. Bruson's career and mine.
First up: Elizabeth Blackwell, MD who was
born in Bristol England in 1821.
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| Elizabeth Blackwell, MD (1821 - 1910) |
In
America, she studied with two male physician friends for two years and then
applied to over 15 medical colleges. She
was turned down by all but one, Geneva Medical College in upstate New York.
The faculty, assuming that
the all-male student body would never agree to a woman joining their ranks,
allowed them to vote on her admission. As a joke, they voted "yes,"
and she gained admittance, despite the reluctance of most students and faculty.
Two years later, in 1849, she graduated at the head of her class to
become the first woman to receive an MD degree from an American medical school.
In spite of Elizabeth being
at the top of her class, the American medical fraternity banned her from
practicing.
She left for England where she worked and studied medicine in
hospitals in Birmingham and London. In St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London she
met Florence Nightingale.
In 1853, she returned to the U.S. and opened a clinic in the slums of New York
City. Women and children were her patients. Her sister, Dr. Emily Blackwell,
and Dr. Marie E. Zakrzewska, later joined her as did our cemeterian doctor,
Mary Blackmar Bruson, MD.
In
1868 Dr, Blackwell opened a college in NYC, the Woman’s Medical College of
the New York Infirmary. This was the first American medical school for
women. She left for England in 1869 where
she spent the rest of her life. Here she set up a private practice and along
with Florence Nightingale opened the Women’s Medical College in London.