La Maternite hospital in Paris,1909, National Library of Medicine.
CAREER
PARIS
After graduating, Elizabeth wanted to continue studies so she went to La Maternité Hospital in Paris. She contracted an eye infection that left her blind in one eye and ruined her prospects of becoming a surgeon.
"But the six months which followed my departure from the La Maternite proved to be a time of great mental suffering, under which a strong physical constitution threatened to give way; for the condition of the affected organ entirely prevented that close application to professional study which was needed. Both anatomical and surgical work were out of the question."
~Elizabeth Blackwell
LONDON
After recovering, she returned to England, working at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Despite appreciating the medical recognition, she missed New York.
St.Bartholomew's Hospital in London,1770, National Library of Medicine.
NEW YORK
Elizabeth returned to the US in 1851, facing hospital access denial. She bought a house for her practice. In 1857, she and her sister Emily opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children.
"Her strong character enabled her to find a medical school that would accept her and complete her studies and subsequently to receive clinical training and establish her own dispensary and infirmary. Her strengths also had their downsides, however, since she was somewhat rigid and inflexible and ended up having clashes with many of her closest colleagues and supporters including her own sister and Florence Nightingale."
~ Derek S. Linton, Distinguished Professor of History, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Newspaper clip on Elizabeth's return to US,1851, Harvard University.
"Being still excluded from medical companionship, and from the means of increasing medial knowledge which dispensary practice affords, I finally determined to try and form an independent dispensary."
~ Elizabeth Blackwell,1857
"The first seven years of New York life were years of very difficult, though steady uphill work."
~ Elizabeth Blackwell
GRADUATION
REFORM & CIVIL WAR