Elizabeth Blackwell Research Paper

In the present-day, many of our doctors are women, however, that has not always been the case. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female doctor. She was the first female to graduate from medical school in the United States. She became a leader in public health activist during her life. Elizabeth impacted the 18th-19th century by becoming a doctor, inspiring others, and paving the way for other women.

To begin with, Elizabeth Blackwell was born in England, February 3, 1821.She was the fourth of nine children. (Britannica) At the start, Elizabeth had no intention of going into medicine. It was only after a female friend of Elizabeth’s had gotten sick and remarked to her that she wished she had a female doctor to help her and that is when she began considering becoming a doctor herself. Since no woman could go to medical school, she had to learn

herself privately and under the assistance of a doctor in North Carolina. She had struggle and fight she had ahead of her to get into a medical school. In 1847, she began to struggle. She applied and was rejected by every medical school. When the Geneva Medical College got her application, the school asked the students whether they should let a female go attend the college. All the students thought it was funny but agreed to let her in. In April of 1849, Dr. Blackwell travelled from Paris to London. In June, she began her post-graduate at Parisian maternity hospital. Her teachers were very impressed with her. (Britannica)
Next, Elizabeth inspired other women to take the bold step to become a doctor. Back in those days women mostly became housewives or worked in factories, and they could only dreamed of becoming doctors, but Elizabeth Blackwell changed it all she showed women that they can become a doctor or even anything else their hearts desire. In fact, Elizabeth Blackwell inspired her younger sister to become the third women in the USA to get a medical degree. Also, Elizabeth wanted to grow in her studies, wanting to become a surgeon. When Blackwell lost sight in one eye, where she contracted "purulent ophthalmic" from a patient. She returned to New York City in 1851, giving up her dream of becoming a surgeon.
Lastly, Elizabeth paved the way for other women.

In 1857, she closed the dispensary and opened the New York Infirmary for sick Women and Children, which has surgical patients. She used this hospital to help poor people seeking medical help as well as for a training facility for female medical and nursing students. The medical staff in the begin was Elizabeth and two sisters Emily and Marie Zakrzewska(biograph). This institution is still there today as the New York University Downtown Hospital. Elizabeth knew that women should receive their medical education alongside men in the normal medical schools that men were attending but she knew they were not welcoming to women students. Since the women who trained there were not able to gain admission to the male medical colleges, she was convinced to create her own women's medical college. That is just what she did, Blackwell was became ill so she gave up the practice of medicine in the late 1870s, but she kept her fight for women’s rights. She died in her home in Hastings, 1910 and left behind opportunities for women to become doctors that for generations to

come.
In brief Elizabeth Blackwell was a very influential person and because of her contributions, today we have so many female doctors and surgeons. Elizabeth impacted the 18th-19th century by becoming a doctor, inspiring others to do the same, and fighting for women’s rights.