History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

Medical Education in Illinois 447mary. There were 29 competitors, 5 women and 24 men. Out of these fivewomen, Drs. Bertha E. Bush and Alice Piper won places as interns and Dr.May Fowler as alternate at the Cook County Hospital. Two women andthree men competed for the appointments at the Eye and Ear Infirmary,and Dr. May Fowler was appointed as intern.Dr. Mergler closed her remarks about these competitive examinations bysaying: "We believe that nothing in the entire history of the College hasbeen so conducive to the high rank which it holds today as the persistentefforts on the part of the students to be given an opportunity to fairly andsquarely test their ability by entering into the competitive examinationsand by insisting on equal privileges with the men in holding positions intheir public institutions. No woman studying medicine today will everknow how much it has cost the individuals who were personally concernedin bringing about these changes; how eagerly they have watched the newdevelopments and mourned over each defeat and rejoiced with each success,for with them it meant much more than success or failure for the individual;it meant the failure or success of a grand cause."The standing of the college improved with the years. It could easilyhold its own with the best colleges in the city and, as its reputation rose,the attendance increased. The amphitheater could barely accommodatethe 152 matriculants of the class of 1890; more and better equipped laboratorieswere needed, and the dispensary rooms were crowded. The schoolhad at last become self-sustaining, and the demand for a new building wasreasonable. It soon became a reality in the form of a 4-story building completedin 1890. This was an imposing edifice and faculty, alumnae andstudents were proud of it. It contained two amphitheaters, new laboratories,library, faculty rooms and modern conveniences. The old building,connecting directly with the new, was renovated and used chiefly for dispensarypurposes. With the new building, teaching facilities improvedgreatly and attendance further increased. In 1894, its alumnae numbered35°-The school came fully abreast of other medical institutions in its requirementsfor admission, as well as in the curriculum offered. Indeed, theopportunities for clinical instruction in obstetrics and gynecology were unequaledby any other school in the city. The students attended clinicsregularly at the Women's and Children's Hospital and at the Woman'sHospital, popularly called Dr. Byford's hospital. Graduates also servedtheir internships in these hospitals and, as the reputation of the schoolspread, other hospitals in the city accepted its graduates for internships.In obstetrics, the Women's and Children's Hospital and the college hadgradually built up large outpatient departments to which the studentswere admitted. Dr. Effa Davis established such a department, under the