Elizabeth was given a valuable introduction to medicine under the Dickinsons' guidance, but in 1847, she decided to pursue official medical studies with her savings. She first went to Philadelphia, PA (which was then a major seat of medical learning in America), then expanded her search to include New York as well. Each application met with a dead end. Many friends encouraged her to either go to France to study or disguise herself as a man, but neither of these options appealed to Elizabeth. She wished to study in America if at all possible, and as for disguising herself -- well, she wrote that her pursuit was a "moral crusade" that "must be pursued in the light of day," so that option was out as well. She sent more applications, this time broadening her search to smaller colleges throughout the North. Finally, she received an acceptance letter from the Geneva Medical School in New York. Apparently, the faculty of the school had turned the question over to the students -- and they, thinking it was a hoax, voted overwhelmingly to accept her.
When Elizabeth arrived in her new home, she was viewed with wonder and not a little suspicion. The propriety of the small town was so shocked by the idea of a woman doctor that many were convinced she must be either a "bad woman" with ulterior motives, or mentally insane. The students at the college, however, were overall very accepting of Elizabeth, and treated her with respect and warmth. Elizabeth wrote that their behavior during the two years she spent at the college "was that of true Christian gentlemen." The professors, too, were for the most part very supportive of Elizabeth and her pursuit of medical studies.
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| Geneva Medical College in New York |
As her studies progressed, Elizabeth became more and more fascinated by the human body, until admiration and curiosity completely outweighed her earlier revulsion. During the summer inbetween her two years at Geneva, she studied in the hospital wards of Blockley Almhouse in Philadelphia, in an attempt to learn more of "practical medicine." She was deeply saddened by the poverty, corruption, and immorality that she saw around her. Her desire for moral reform remained a common thread throughout her career, as she strove to do what good she could through her medicine.
In the first of the year 1849, Elizabeth graduated in the top of her class from Geneva Medical School -- making her the first woman to receive an M.D. from an American medical college. The event was a milestone in U.S. history; it filled American newspapers, and even made its way to England. However, Elizabeth wasn't done with studying. Wishing to continue her education, she left with a cousin for Europe in the spring of 1849 in order to study abroad for a time. She first studied briefly in hospitals in England, then traveled to Paris, where she enrolled in La Maternite (an institution to train midwives) to learn the skills needed to be an obstetrician. There, however, she contracted purulent opthalmia from a patient, which eventually left her blind in one eye. To her disappointment, the injury meant specializing in surgery or anatomy was out of the question for her now. Her dreams of reform were not dampened, however, and in the summer of 1851, she left England to head back to New York.
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| La Maternite Institute in Paris |
