nPostednon June 9, 2014
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nFirstnoff, let me tell you about Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s “firsts”:
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nShen was the first English woman to qualify as a physician in Britain.
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nShen was the first English woman to qualify as a surgeon in Britain.
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nShen helped found the first hospital staffed by women.
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nShen was the first female dean of a British medical school.
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nShen was the first female physician in France.
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nShen was the first woman in Britain elected to a school board.
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nShen was the first female mayor and magistrate in Britain.
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nUmmm…WOW!
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nAnbit of an overachiever, don’t you think?
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nHow’dnall that happen?
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nWhennI hear about someone having to struggle hard to be the first to donsomething – such as the first woman to become a doctor – I jumpnthe conclusion that that person just cared sooo much about thatnparticular goal that she didn’t let anything stand in her way. Inguess I assumed that Elizabeth Garrett just wanted to be a doctornreally badly, because she loved medicine.
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nItnturns out, that assumption was a bit off. Instead, Garrett and hernfriend cared more about living worthwhile lives, lives that wouldnsatisfy their active minds, and about promoting educational andnprofessional opportunities for women, than she cared about medicinenitself. n
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nAfternlearning at home from her mother and a governess, and then going to ansort of high-school-level boarding school, Garrett was looking for anway to make her life count for something. In 1959, she and her friendnEmily Davies went to hear a lecture by Elizabeth Blackwell, who hadnbecome the first female doctor in the U.S. a decade before. Inspirednby that lecture, Garrett and Davies hatched a plan of how to increasenwomen’s rights and opportunities: Garrett would put her efforts intonopening up the medical profession to women, Davies would work onngetting universities to allow women students, and Garret’s littlensister Millicent would work to get voting rights for women.
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nGarrettngot to work on her goal with vigor. She won her dad over to her causenof becoming a physician (eventually), but Garrett met with no successnin convincing the leading doctors in London that women could andnshould be allowed to train as doctors. So she worked as a surgerynnurse in a hospital in London and proved herself to be a good nurse.nShe worked her way into tending patients at an outpatients’ clinic.nShe was not allowed to enroll in the hospital’s Medical School, butnshe was allowed to study privately with the hospital’s apothecaryn(pharmacist) and she hired a tutor to study anatomy and physiology,nwhile continuing to work as a nurse.
She persevered and keptnasking to be allowed into the dissecting room and the chemistrynlectures, and eventually she was allowed in. She had won over thensupport of the hospital university’s administration – but the malenstudents didn’t want her and made a fuss.
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nShenended up having to leave the hospital. But she did have some honorsncertificates in chemistry, anatomy, and other medical science topics.nShe applied to many medical schools, but they all turned her down;nfinally she was admitted for private study by the Society ofnApothecaries, and she continued to study with university professorsnprivately.
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nInn1865, Garrett took her exam along with six others. Garrett earned thenhighest score of the seven; only she and two others passed and andnobtained their license to practice medicine from the Society ofnApothecaries. n
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nGetnthis: although Garrett can thank the Society for becoming the firstnwoman in Britain to obtain her medical license, the Societynimmediately changed its policies to prevent other women from doingnso!! n
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Youncan see that Garrett had to have a lot of grit and determination. Shenhad to work hard and score crazy-well, and still she found obstaclesnin her way. Once she had her license, hospitals still wouldn’t hirenher, so she set up a private practice. You could probably guess thatnmany people didn’t want to go to a female doctor, but she kept on andnended up eventually treating thousands of patients. She had to waitnand wait before she was admitted into British Medical Association—andnthen she had to wait another 19 years for another woman to benadmitted.
Youncan see that Garrett had to have a lot of grit and determination. Shenhad to work hard and score crazy-well, and still she found obstaclesnin her way. Once she had her license, hospitals still wouldn’t hirenher, so she set up a private practice. You could probably guess thatnmany people didn’t want to go to a female doctor, but she kept on andnended up eventually treating thousands of patients. She had to waitnand wait before she was admitted into British Medical Association—andnthen she had to wait another 19 years for another woman to benadmitted.n
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nInimagine that all those other accomplishments – including becomingnBritain’s first woman school board member and the first woman mayor –nwere also born out of hard work, patience, and perseverance. n
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nGarrettndidn’t spend every moment of her life surmounting obstacles andnpracticing medicine. She married a man named James Skelton Anderson,nand she had three kids; she had a happy marriage and enjoyedngardening, traveling, and her family. Her daughter as well as hernyounger sister became feminist activists.
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nHooray,nhooray, hooray for Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, M.D.!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof Captain Blood’s attempt to steal the crown jewels
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nAnniversarynof the burning of Alexandra Palace
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nJunen holidays
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nJunen birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in June
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJulyn holidays
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nJulyn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in July
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