Editing Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (section)

== Medical education ==

After an initial unsuccessful visit to leading doctors in [[Harley Street]], Garrett decided to first spend six months as a surgery nurse at [[Middlesex Hospital]], London in August 1860.<ref name=Ogilvie /><ref>Manton, pp. 82–93</ref> On proving to be a good nurse, she was allowed to attend an outpatients' clinic, then her first operation. She unsuccessfully attempted to enroll in the hospital's Medical School but was allowed to attend private tuition in Latin, Greek and [[pharmacology]] with the hospital's apothecary, while continuing her work as a nurse. She also employed a tutor to study [[anatomy]] and [[physiology]] three evenings a week. Eventually she was allowed into the dissecting room and the chemistry lectures. Gradually, Garrett became an unwelcome presence among the male students, who in 1861 presented a memorial to the school against her admittance as a fellow student, despite the support she enjoyed from the administration.<ref name=Ogilvie /><ref>Manton, pp. 104–110</ref> She was obliged to leave the Middlesex Hospital but she did so with an honours certificate in chemistry and ''[[materia medica]]''. Garrett then applied to several medical schools, including Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, Edinburgh, [[University of St Andrews|St Andrews]] and the [[Royal College of Surgeons]], all of which refused her admittance.<ref name=Ogilvie /><ref>Manton, pp. 114–115</ref>

A companion to Garrett in this effort was the lesser known [[Sophia Jex-Blake]]. While both are considered "outstanding" medical figures of the late 19th century, Garrett was able to obtain her credentials by way of a "side door" through a loophole in admissions at the [[Worshipful Society of Apothecaries]].<ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal|last1=Annie G.|first1=Porritt|title=Reviewed Work: The Life of Sophia Jex-Blake. by Margaret Todd|journal=Political Science Quarterly|date=1919|volume=34|issue=1|page=180|jstor=2141537}}</ref> Having privately obtained a certificate in anatomy and physiology, she was admitted in 1862 by the Society of Apothecaries who, as a condition of their charter, could not legally exclude her on account of her sex.<ref name="jstor.org" /> She was the only woman in the Apothecaries Hall who sat the exam that year. Among the 51 male candidates was [[William Heath Strange]], who went on to found the Hampstead General Hospital, which was on the site now occupied by the [[Royal Free Hospital]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Apothecaries Hall |journal=Evening Standard|location=London |date=30 September 1862 |page=5}}</ref> She continued her battle to qualify by studying privately with various professors, including some at the University of St Andrews, the [[Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital and Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion|Edinburgh Royal Maternity]] and the [[London Hospital Medical School]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Anderson, Elizabeth, née Garrett (1836{{snd}}1917)|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|editor-last=Millar|editor-first=David|edition=2nd|via=Credo Reference}}</ref>

In 1865, Garrett finally took her exam and obtained a licence (LSA) from the Society of Apothecaries to practise medicine, the first woman qualified in Britain to do so openly (previously there was Dr [[James Barry (surgeon)|James Barry]] who was born and raised female but presented as male from the age of 20). On the day, three out of seven candidates passed the exam, Garrett with the highest marks.<ref>Manton, pp. 162–163</ref> The Society of Apothecaries immediately amended its regulations to prevent other women obtaining a licence<ref>Manton, p. 176</ref> meaning that Jex-Blake could not follow this same path; the new rule disallowed privately educated women to be eligible for examination.<ref name="jstor.org" /> It was not until 1876 that the new [[UK Medical Act of 1876|Medical Act]] (39 and 40 Vict, Ch. 41) passed, which allowed British medical authorities to license all qualified applicants whatever their gender.<ref>{{cite book|title=British Medical Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Rw-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1079|year=1908|publisher=British Medical Association|page=1079}}</ref><ref name="Ph.D.2014">{{cite book|author=John A. Wagner Ph.D.|title=Voices of Victorian England: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqiSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA211|date=25 February 2014|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38689-3|page=211}}</ref><ref name="Commons1892">{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons|title=Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKgTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40|year=1892|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|page=40}}</ref>