Pioneer Work In Opening The Medical Profession To Women

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first woman awarded the M.D. degree in the United States. Here is the story of her dedicated, groundbreaking struggle to practice the medical profession, eloquently told in her own words. Born in England, she immigrated with her family to the United States in 1832. After teaching school for more than a decade, the medical profession gradually became an irresistible calling. Though faced with continuous discrimination, she graduated from medical school in 1849--first in her class. Blackwell encountered further resistance in her attempts to set up a practice. When New York City's hospitals refused to offer her any post, she eventually opened up a small infirmary in a slum district. By 1868, after consultation with Florence Nightingale, she succeeded in founding the Woman's Medical College at the infirmary, which remained in operation for thirty-one years. During the American Civil War she performed valuable service by helping to organize the Woman's Central Association of Relief, which selected and trained nurses for the war, and the U.S. Sanitary Commission. In 1869, Blackwell moved permanently to England and was appointed professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for Women. Full of insightful reflections on the philosophy of medicine, women's education, the evils of slavery, and the nature of American society in the nineteenth century, this unique autobiography will interest scholars and students of women's studies and the history of science.Blackwell, Elizabeth is the author of 'Pioneer Work In Opening The Medical Profession To Women ', published 2005 under ISBN 9781591022558 and ISBN 159102255X.