Elizabet Blackwell. El legado de la primera mujer médico

Abstract

Elizabeth Blackwell forma parte de la Historia de la Medicina por ser la primera mujer médico de la historia moderna, tras graduarse en EEUU en enero de 1849. Nace en Bristol en 1821 y emigra a EEUU con 11 años; es educada en un ambiente liberal que la proporciona una formación superior a las mujeres de su tiempo. Tras trabajar como profesora en Cincinnati para para ayudar a su familia decide estudiar Medicina oficialmente, aunque no estaba permitido a las mujeres. Consigue ser aceptada en el Geneva College, una facultad rural de Nueva York y graduarse brillantemente 2 años después. Continúa su formación práctica en Paris y Londres. Regresa en 1852 a Nueva York para ejercer la medicina; en 1857 funda el hospital “New York Infirmary for Women and Children”. En 1889 crea en Londres un Hospital para tratamiento de las enfermedades de las mujeres. Durante la Guerra Civil regresa a Nueva York y posteriormente crea una Universidad para mujeres. Regresa de nuevo a Londres como Profesor de Ginecología. Fallece a consecuencia de un derrame cerebral en mayo de 1910. A lo largo de su vida dió conferencias, escribió artículos y libros y promovió campañas a favor de la higiene y contra la promiscuidad y el aborto. Su trabajo no solo abrió el camino para que la mujer pudiese estudiary ejercer la medicina, sino que contribuyó a introducir mejoras sanitarias que siguen vigentes en la actualidad.

Elizabeth Blackwell is part of the history of medicine as the first woman doctor in modern history; she was graduated in the USA in January 1849. Born in Bristol in 1821 and emigrating to the USA at the age of 11, she was educated in a liberal environment that provided her with a higher education than the women of her time. After working as a teacher in Cincinnati, to help her family, she decided to study medicine officially, although women were not allowed to do so. She was accepted at Geneva College, a rural college in New York, and graduated brilliantly two years later. She continued her practical training in Paris and London,and she returned to New York in 1852 to practice medicine; in 1857 she founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. In 1889 she established a hospital in London for the treatment of women's diseases. During the American Civil war, she moved to work to New York. She promotes a universityfor women,and she return to London as Professor of Gynecology. She died of a stroke in May 1910. Throughout her life she gave lectures, wrote articles and books, and promoted campaigns for hygiene and against promiscuity and abortion. His work not only open the way for women to study and practicemedicine, but also contributed to the introduction of health improvements that are still in force today.