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SPEAKER_04: Hello, I'm Aparna Balakumar, and I do marketing solutions here at Wonder Media Network. Today I'm excited to introduce you to one of my favorite healthcare workers that's been featured on Encyclopedia Wamanaka, Elizabeth Blackwell. It has never been more apparent to us that healthcare workers are the ultimate heroes stepping up to protect us all, even if it means endangering their own health in the process. As coronavirus continues to spread, shining a light on brave medical pioneers like Elizabeth feels fitting, and more important than ever. Against the odds, Elizabeth became the first woman in the United States to graduate from medical school, and the first modern day woman doctor of medicine, despite much ostracization, harassment, and doubts from her male peers. This episode initially aired in September, but we wanted to highlight Elizabeth again in honor of the modern healthcare workers putting their lives on the line for us all today. Now here's host Jenny Kaplan to tell you all about Elizabeth Blackwell.
SPEAKER_02: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia Wamanaka.
SPEAKER_02: Today we're talking about the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. She went on to become a champion for women in medicine and an important social reformer. Let's meet our Steminist of the Day, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Elizabeth was born in 1821 in Bristol, England. She was the third of nine children born to Samuel Blackwell and his wife Hannah, who were both well-known Quakers and anti-slavery activists. This was not your average family. Many of Elizabeth's close relatives became well-known in their own right, including her brother Henry, who was a famous abolitionist and women's rights activist and was married to fellow activist Lucy Stone. Elizabeth's sister, Emily, followed Elizabeth into medicine and their sister-in-law, Antoinette Brown Blackwell, was the first ordained female minister of a major Protestant denomination. When Elizabeth was 11 years old, her family moved to the United States and eventually settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. Just six years later, in 1838, Elizabeth's father died and left the family practically destitute in the middle of a major national financial crisis. In order to support the family, Elizabeth, her two older sisters, and their mother worked as teachers to make ends meet. But Elizabeth had other career ambitions. She was inspired to go into medicine while taking care of a dying friend. The friend noted that she would have had a less onerous and likely less embarrassing experience had she been treated by a female doctor. At the time, there were few medical schools in America and the ones that existed didn't accept women. In order to move towards her dream of going into medicine, Elizabeth took private teaching positions with the families of two different Southern physicians who mentored her in their profession. Then, Elizabeth moved to Philadelphia in 1847, hoping that she could use her Quaker connections to gain entrance into any medical school that would have her. She applied to as many schools as she could, but was rejected from all except for one. Geneva College in upstate New York apparently sent her an acceptance letter meant to be a practical joke. But Elizabeth didn't find it particularly funny and went ahead and accepted. Her joke acceptance was just the beginning of Elizabeth's difficulties in medical school. Not only was she forced by her professors to sit separately from the men during lectures, but she was often left out of the labs component altogether. That meant she was getting significantly less hands-on practice than her male peers. But Elizabeth was a genius. She won over her professors and classmates as time went on with the sheer force of her skill and intellect. She ended up graduating first in her class in 1849, making her the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States and the first modern-day woman doctor of medicine. After graduation, she moved to Europe to further train under doctors in London and Paris. Elizabeth was subjected to plenty of prejudice from European doctors who would often make her play second fiddle to them as nurse or midwife. But even then, her brain was churning. She noticed that male doctors often caused disease transmission and sometimes even epidemics because they didn't wash their hands between patients. Elizabeth began emphasizing the importance of personal hygiene in hospitals and pioneered preventative care. In 1851, Elizabeth moved to New York City. There, it was even harder to be a woman doctor than it was in Europe. She was refused all posts in the city's hospitals and dispensaries and was even unable to rent offices for her own private practice. As a result, her practice was very slow to develop. In the interim, she wrote a series of lectures called The Laws of Life with special reference to the physical education of girls. Thanks to the assistance of Quaker friends and the Quaker community, Elizabeth opened a small dispensary in a very poor, underserved neighborhood in 1853. Four years later, she was joined by her younger sister, Dr. Emily Blackwell, as well as another woman doctor. The greatly enlarged dispensary was unified as the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. One of its major missions was in providing positions for women doctors. The Blackwell sisters even trained nurses there during the Civil War for Union Hospitals. In 1868, after perfecting a plan she created in consultation with Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth opened the Women's Medical College at the infirmary. The medical college operated for 31 years and was well known for its very high academic and training standards. Elizabeth served as the chair of hygiene for the school until she moved back to England for good in 1869. Back in England, Elizabeth established a successful private practice. She also helped to create the National Health Society. And in 1875, she was appointed to a professorship at the London School of Medicine for Women, which she held until 1907 when she was forced to retire due to injury. While on vacation in Scotland, Elizabeth took a terrible fall down a flight of stairs and was left mentally and physically disabled. In 1910, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell died at her home in Hastings, Sussex after suffering a stroke that paralyzed half her body. Tune in tomorrow for the story of another barrier-breaking feminist. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow. This week of Encyclopedia Wamanica is sponsored by General Assembly. General Assembly has impacted over 100,000 careers through training and today's most in-demand skills. These days, leveraging technology is vital for any company's success. General Assembly's arming individuals and teams today with the skills they need to be the feminists of tomorrow. Check them out at ga.co.
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SPEAKER_01: Do you hear it? The clock is ticking. It's time for the new season of 60 Minutes. The CBS News Sunday Night tradition is back for its 56th season. With all new big name interviews, hard-hitting investigations and epic adventures. No place, no one, no story is off limits. And you'll always learn something new. It's time for 60 Minutes. New episode airs Sunday, September 24th on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
