Impossible! Unheard of! When Elizabeth Blackwell decided to become a doctor, she repeatedly heard those comments. In mid-19th century, medicine was not a field open to women. But Blackwell wouldn't let that stop her from earning a medical degree at New York's Geneva Medical College in 1849. Blackwell's determination to succeed led her to become America's first woman doctor. Her pioneering spirit opened the door for women in medicine, inspiring generations that followed.