Shin-Kickers From History
Shin Kickers From History: Elizabeth Blackwell, MD
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in the world to become a doctor with a degree from a certified medical school. She was determined that she would not be the last. She became, as the title of her 1895 autobiography proclaimed,* a pioneer in opening the medical profession to women. Blackwell was born in England…
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Dorothea Dix Volunteers
“Dragon” Dix was a shadowy and controversial figure in the opening scenes of the PBS series, Mercy Street. The historical Miss Dix was just as controversial. For those of you who don’t have the details of the American Civil War at your fingertips: the war began at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861, when troops…
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Confederate Nurses, Pt 1
Both the television show Mercy Street, and Heroines of Mercy Street* look at Civil War nurses through the lens of a single Union hospital, Mansion House Hospital in the occupied city of Alexandria, Virginia. I use the “memoirs” of two women who nursed there, Mary Phinney von Olnhausen and Anne Reading,** as a framework for…
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