Telegram-herald., 1889-04-21
THE GIRL DOCTORS STORY.
BY the Surgeons Table and ia the
DiSsecting RooEa-
A Tale Of r xpsrtsnee Ia = Medical sehasl
and a. shs llslsiass of the Ieos Whst
a. Means - Bs a N sna1n Physle i@G.
Beet Net 40 stuay To- As9sK.
,cfPakfGHa lssl

'Yes. csn point you 20 tie very hour
when tie Thought came 70 ne that / would
b = doctor
There Is hardly need 81 the quotation
marks for TIE aot ot q girl barely ave
feet nigh With sober blue escs and seilow
curling hair. told her story L. the eu4
without Interruption. Listen a. Il slc
We're telling II 20 you
II shut my eyes 1 can see "a nov. the
laboratory II the Boston Nstural History
Society. There ie the skeleton m TIE cor
ner, The skulls Of aathTopoid apes grin
ming from glass cases, the broad tables
under tie windows where microscopes
were standing and queer things swan ia
glass bottles, tie desks IN even TONS
where two or three dozen Hub school
ma ans were sitting, bending With eagar
interest over the anatomy 0f tae fresh
water spOnge-a nice lAdylike s'4bjecI for
nvesfig auOn-Pr0f. Aipheus Hyatt on
the platform, the most genial aud Kind
hearted OF al American scientists. an odor
OF ether and caTb0llc acid IN the air. and
myself ia a long print apron stationed
beside AZ enormous iron pan IA TIE back
ground.
prof Hyatt had honored me with con-
hdence. There Was . secret ia ms keeping
Tell them IL came from an OK II they
ask you what you are dissectlng
It referred 10 the subject Of the con
fidence. IT. was a specimen 10 be cleaned
and made ready for preservation ia aico-
hOl. u WAS large and 40 heavy that l
could not turn IL with my forceps. aud
shtank with sn odd fiutter al my heart
from touch M q with my fingers. IL Was
somethiue / nal never before seen nor cX-
like -uahe AID appeared 10 be some large
anime = stomach aud intestlnes. It. /
was privately informed, came from hos
pital. 1t made my face like white paper
till the teachers turned and looked at ne
and one OF them pushed up "A window aud
another started 10 support me 10 the air.
IT fascinated while IL repelled ne, and
when had conclusively proved myself
coward then was already querying in my
mind when the next term opened at the
medical school.
mo, | cannot tell you the whole story.
The exact recital of a girls experiences Ia
the days often weary dsy-, sometimes try
ing and terrible days when she is working
for "A diploma in medicine might make in
teresting reading. but il might frighten
out OF studying the profession many "a
woman who would make "a good physician.
Ii has left me convinced that no woman
ought 20 enter medical school before she
is p years old, and not then unless she can
draw on large bank reserve of health and
courage | was 70 when | enrolled myself
and shall get into practice no sooner than
if | had waited until "A more matronly
looking face inspired patients with conf
dence.
"Those first DAYS in the dssectiDg room.
There were about ten or twelve other stu
dents. Two or three We're rs young as l.
mother and daughter were studying to-
gether. and one was old enough almost
TO be a grandmother. They wore rubber
aprons that came close about the throat.
reached almost 10 the floor and buttoned
behind They had their hair put back
very snugly and they looked SO wide-eyed
and absorbed. The subject was a girl
as young the youngest OF us
there. She had heavy chestnut hair that
dragged on the floor. and long eyelashes
and fingers, oh, SO white and wa1en. !
felt like asking her pardon for standing
over her and looking az her. and when the
demonstrator lifted one hand and began
10 pinch the different muscles with her
forceps and pull them TO show which one
would make which finger wiggle ] could
have screamed. ! suppose j did scream
for they all looked al me. then back Al the
body again as II they were too eager 10 no
tice anything which was still living. Then
the demonstrator gave me pair of pincers
and scalpel and told me 10 lay bare the
extensOr of the right thumb. Next me
was student who was bending over the
abdomen. She was tall, and dark haired.
and wore black dress with a crimson
ribbon on her shoulder.
There's no use. she said. in trying
towork this ont from woman's body.
Women corset themselves till they
havn't such a thing 10 bless themselves
with as an abdominal muscle Whycau't
they get us - manf
''She was as impatient ss II foiled in a
search for diamonds. ! grssped the thumb
wht>h had been assigned me gingeriy
with the pincers. and began 10 cut away
the skin with the scalpel. In n day or two
there was nothing left that had not been
slashed and minced but the face. and II.
started with astonishment when ! caught
glimpse of my own face in a little glass
hanging on the side wall. It was staring
az long, stTiagy muscle ripped uD and
held by the force3s while the knife scrapsi
the fbres clean. with eyes as -; and glow
ing - the rrst cf them.
Il never had much trouble ~ the dis
secting room afterwar6. I got over the
awfui feeling that once the subject Rad
been alive. Indeed that is where g..
younger women often fud the work easier
than older ones There Was = woman 81
- who Joined the class after me who per-
severed for three months before she could
remain above ten minutes ia the dissect
ing room without faiuting
ITO look on quietly ~ surgical opsrn
tions was sonnet b ing nat came stall harder
The students a. the women's college srs
allowed on certain On - 20 attend the <ew
York Hospital on ore Of mv frsf VISIT.
there was an operation - be performed on
painter who had fallen FROM "a sc7foldfng
and broken his leE Comp icatl0rs had
set in and fhe limb was r. he removed
apgye fhe knee Ths patient ial been
efhsrzsd and iay "a 2 dead. huf vhsn fhs
kuff. t0uchf1 f1e rat artery the T. D0f
spufted up ID streams There we're 81 ght
students .soNnr Oh. fo1r grs ard fcnr
Young men from fhe College - Physicians
and Surgeons Ite room ~as ver1 warm
an8 fhe sraeli ~ anasfh~firs ir fte sir rss
eckening saw the rri ufrt ~. resI
wher q -rnrf ~ something crimson lashef
arainrf her fece but sae cIeucrft ner
sands fifl fne nsils entered tie re go re
2.rfre5 ts-Teif aid - forward nsf ~
ose motion ~ the suT gem hand Two
n sac rouths ia front ~ ne looked stnfF.
ud ~hea another ln,Irioo sent HT q erccna
cartafr arl a r.3 drop srlsshed nn fbe
lsn1 ~ one - them - never c2epe1 s
VOID. hrf fsH ira deed faint on fhe hsof.
"vs seen IS 1nsnv men re women ir pre-
,7rf ea lose heart when ta. Enl's gefs