Elizabeth Blackwell: The first woman physician Lauren Grant

Who is Elizabeth Blackwell? Why is she important? Elizabeth Blackwell is recognized as the first female doctor. She set up a medical college to train women in medicine She created a hospital run by only women She understood the importance of hygiene

Early Life She was one of 9 Quaker children She believed that everyone was equal She emigrated to New York from England when she was 12 Her mother gave her an education that was a good as a boy’s

Struggles She was denied by 29 medical schools before being accepted to one because of her gender She was continually asked to not attend lectures/demonstrations Her medical practice didn’t get a lot of business because men wouldn’t take their families to her

Accomplishments She was the first woman to receive a medical degree She graduated from medical school with honors She set up a woman-run hospital and educated women in medicine She gave hygienic talks that introduced new prevention methods

Fun Facts! she organized a unit of female field doctors during the Civil War She became a professor of gynecology at the London School of Medicine for Children She adopted an Irish orphan She used the medical field as a “barrier” to marriage After treating a baby with an eye infection, she went blind in one eye