Summary of Olivia Campbell's Women in White Coats

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 The question of whether or not to study medicine was raised with Elizabeth by Mary Donaldson, a neighbor who was dying of advanced uterine cancer. Elizabeth hated everything connected with the body, and could not bear the sight of a medical book.

#2 The practice of medicine in the first half of the 1800s was a gruesome business. Doctors would treat diseases with toxic metals, such as mercury chloride, which was believed to cure anything from cancer to cholera.

#3 Elizabeth’s friend Mary died of a painful disease, and she began to think about becoming a doctor. If other women joined her in becoming a physician, no woman would have to suffer like Mary.

#4 Elizabeth’s goal was to expand women’s educational and career opportunities. She wanted to be a doctor, and she wanted to do it against her strong inclinations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669385769

IRB Media

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Insights on Olivia Campbell's Women in White Coats

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The question of whether or not to study medicine was raised with Elizabeth by Mary Donaldson, a neighbor who was dying of advanced uterine cancer. Elizabeth hated everything connected with the body, and could not bear the sight of a medical book.

#2

The practice of medicine in the first half of the 1800s was a gruesome business. Doctors would treat diseases with toxic metals, such as mercury chloride, which was believed to cure anything from cancer to cholera.

#3

Elizabeth’s friend Mary died of a painful disease, and she began to think about becoming a doctor. If other women joined her in becoming a physician, no woman would have to suffer like Mary.

#4

Elizabeth’s goal was to expand women’s educational and career opportunities. She wanted to be a doctor, and she wanted to do it against her strong inclinations.

#5

An absorbing profession would help Elizabeth get her mind off of men. She was attracted to men, but found them intellectually disappointing or else found the prospect of sexual contact shameful. She wanted to be a physician so she could have a barrier between her and the expectation of marriage.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

Elizabeth’s first obstacle was overcoming her revulsion at the sight of bodily fluids and functions. She wrote to all of the doctors she knew to gather their opinions on her becoming a lady doctor, and they all said it was impossible.

#2

Elizabeth was determined to become a doctor, and she turned her attention to Philadelphia, the birthplace of American medical education.