Know All About Elizabeth Blackwell, The First Woman Doctor In The USA
Her practice struggle
Banned from practice in most hospitals, she was advised to go to Paris, France and train at La Maternite. There she could only work as a midwife and not a physician. Elizabeth contracted a serious eye infection while operating a baby and thus lost one eye. This brought an end to her dream to be a surgeon. In 1851, Elizabeth returned to New York where dispensaries and hospitals paid no heed to her request to practice. Finally, she started practicing at home where she treated women and children, and there she penned lectures on health, which were published in 1852 as Laws Of Life; with reference to the physical education of girls.
Later life
In 1853, Elizabeth Blackwell opened a dispensary in the slums of New York. Later, she was joined by her sister Emily Blackwell, who was newly graduated with a medical degree. A team of leading physicians supported them by acting as consulting physicians. The Blackwell sisters incorporated the dispensary to New York Infirmary for women and children. She also gave lectures in Great Britain and inspired women to take up medicine. In 1868, the Blackwell sisters opened a women’s medical college at the Infirmary. This college was run by someone else, hence she moved to London and there she founded the London School Of Medicine.
Elizabeth Blackwell died in the year 1921 leaving her name in history. She is an ideal and an inspiration for women from around the world. Her spectacular journey is truly admirable!
