Viatouch
Teacher Articles
History
Strong Medicine
The Elizabeth
Blackwell Story
by Wanda
S. Galey
Show
me a person who has never experienced rejection, and I’ll
show you someone who has never taken a chance. Rejections don’t
mean failures. They can inspire us to tackle roadblocks and prepare
us for success, if we allow them. Make the choice—rejection
or opportunity? Elizabeth Blackwell made such a choice. What did
she do with rejections? She kept knocking on closed doors and
became the first woman doctor. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)
learned to use rejections as strong medicine in her pursuit of
a degree from Geneva Medical College, which she accomplished on
January 23, 1849. The "no’s" Dr. Blackwell heard
during her life became "yes’s" through her tenacity,
determination, and persistence. She wrote, "I do not wish
to give women a first place, still less a second one—but
the most complete freedom, to take their true place whatever it
may be". You can also pursue your "true place".
How? Take a closer look at Dr. Blackwell’s strong medicine
for rejections.
Dr.
Blackwell’s first rejection was her acceptance from Geneva
College of Medicine. How can an acceptance be a rejection? It
started as a joke among most of the male students;
they didn’t think she was serious about pursuing a medical
degree. Elizabeth had been denied entrance to twenty-one colleges,
but she refused to give up. The joke became an acceptance at Geneva.
Why? Because she took the chance, the opportunity that was offered.
She accepted the challenge, not the rejections.
Dr.
Blackwell also faced cold treatment while receiving her education
at Geneva. Although some of the male students were helpful, people
in the community and the boarding house she stayed in disapproved
of her being there. She spent much of her time in isolation and
felt alone but time and her persistence helped improve people’s
attitudes towards her. Her attitude and quiet manner were noticed
by all. Elizabeth wasn’t out to prove anything; she just
wanted her medical degree so she could help women and children.
Even
during graduation ceremonies, Elizabeth was isolated, sitting
by herself, but she didn’t complain. She received her diploma
by herself, unlike the male students who received theirs four
at a time. Again, instead of feeling the rejection, she accepted
the behavior and was rewarded. The President took off his hat
and handed her the diploma. Silence. She bowed and said, "Sir,
I thank you; it shall be the effort of my life, with the help
of the Most High, to shed honour on this diploma". Loud applause
followed along with approval from the faculty. She was then made
the leader of her class.
Another
bump in the road tried to prevent Dr. Blackwell from her visions
and goals for women in medicine. Elizabeth wanted to become an
obstetrician and also a surgeon. But again, more rejections to
battle. In Paris, she had been refused acceptance to the hospitals.
Her solution? Elizabeth lowered herself to the position of student
at the Hospital La Maternite as a nursing student. Not one to
feel sorry for her self, she used this time to learn French, attended
lectures, and was busy with nursing. But what was a doctor doing
performing these types of tasks? Elizabeth’s doctor’s
skills were not lost on others; students asked her to teach them.
Another
obstacle arose while at the Paris hospital. Elizabeth’s eyes
became infected after taking care of an infant who had an eye
disease. After three weeks in bed, she was told her left eye would
never heal. This is the only time she cried hysterically. And
then she told her sister Anna, "This is a loss for which
there can be no consolation, but I must meet and bear it".
Her surgeon dream vanished along with the vision of her left eye--a
glass eye took its place. But yet, she was grateful for her right
eye. She would still practice medicine. She lost sight in her
left eye but not her dream. May 12, 1857, the New York Infirmary
for Women and Children opened with Elizabeth as the director and
her sister Emily the surgeon.
Again,
with the opening of the New York infirmary and Dr. Blackwell’s
practice in New York, problems arose. While reaching out to the
poor, malnourished and people who lived in filthy conditions in
the slums of New York, Elizabeth wrote instructions and lectures
on health. Never losing sight of the goal while waiting for women
and men to accept what she offered—healing and healthy conditions
to live by. Still treated with a cold shunning because she was
a woman and a doctor, threatening letters were sent too; her indomitable
spirit and character kept her reaching out to the masses. The
rejection of females
because she was a doctor, hurt her most. But Horace Greeley and
the Quakers, along with the help of her sisters backed her practice.
A break came when Elizabeth improved the living conditions of
tenement houses where she lived and opened a dispensary. She was
truly a pioneer for women and children’s health issues.
Rejections
and problems encouraged Elizabeth-- made her stronger in her own
life and other women’s lives. She suffered, but she allowed
the medicine of life’s sufferings and problems heal others.
Let them do the same for you as you reach for your goals in life.
Use the rejections that will happen and "take your true place"
in life. Rejections are opportunities---strong medicine.
The End
Wanda Galey loves reading, writing, and teaching
high school students. Ohio is her home, and the hills are full
of stories echoing throughout generations. Wanda also attends
many writers’ workshops one of which is in Wildacres, North
Carolina, located on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains during
the summers. She is completing ICL writing for children and young
adults. Wanda has completed several writing workshops online and
has enjoyed the opportunity of meeting many talented writers and
instructors in the cyber world.
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