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33:
218:. She showed interest in medical science at an early age. As an adult, she told another female doctor and friend, "I was only 3 when I first thought about being a doctor. I heard of a woman missionary doctor. When I was 5 I asked my mother if women could be doctors. She told me they could and from then on I knew that is what I would do."
253:. In 1910, she returned to Toronto to begin her practice but was not accepted by any doctor for surgical training. Thus, she went back to Philadelphia for six months of intensive training under another female surgeon, which included a week where she oversaw a surgical ward, an experience which she credited with building her confidence.
288:
After her retirement, Smillie married widower Alex
Robertson when she was 70, though they had met decades prior, explaining the delay with: "I first met in 1898 while I was teaching. At that time I was planning for medicine, not marriage, and I didn’t think I could have both." He died ten years
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due to an increase of female patients wanting their services and a growing number of female physicians in Canada. Prior to a building being built, the hospital was located inside rented houses, and its early financial difficulties led the founders to gather vegetables from farmers' wives to feed
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later. On her hundredth birthday she said there was not a day in her life she did not want to be a doctor. Smillie
Robertson died in a nursing home in Toronto on February 26, 1981, at the age of 103 and is buried in
279:
Outside of the hospital, Smillie was a founding member of the
Federation of Medical Women of Canada and was politically active in liberal causes, at one point serving as president of the Women's Liberal Association.
272:
their patients. She joined the Women's
College Hospital in 1912, shortly after its creation, where she went on to become Associate Chief of Gynecology, a position she held until 1942. She performed
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In 2023, Halifax artist Jo Napier completed a portrait of
Smillie Robertson, which currently hangs in the waiting room of the gynecologic oncology clinic of Halifax’s
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After
Smillie's second return to Toronto, no hospital would allow her to perform surgery. Instead, she performed her first surgery (an
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233:; some women felt hostility from their male peers, though Smillie felt the women positively influenced the men. She graduated in 1909.
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to remove an ovarian tumor) using daylight on a patient's kitchen table, which made her the first surgeon to perform major
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would take
Smillie as a resident intern, forcing her to move to the United States to complete an internship at the
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Buchanan; 1849–1906) as one of several children. Jennie
Smillie attended public schools in Hensall and later in
908:
873:
519:
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The
Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century
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167:
The Women's
College Hospital in Toronto that Smillie helped found as the Ontario Medical College for Women.
264:
in Canada. As a result, she became the country's first female surgeon recorded in the field's modern era.
194:, she completed her training in the United States. In 1911, she helped re-found her alma mater as today's
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In 2016, Smillie Robertson was one of the nominees to be the first woman to have her likeness appear on
182:. Born to farmers, she worked as a teacher to afford tuition for medical school before enrolling at the
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In 1911, Smillie and her female colleagues re-established the Ontario Medical College for Women as the
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Smillie was initially educated as a teacher and worked until age 25 to save for tuition for the
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434:"Dr. Jennie Smillie Robertson Woman Surgeon Was First to Enter Practice in Canada".
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was the first Canadian female surgeon and also performed the country's first major
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Medical internships in Canada were difficult for women to obtain; no hospital in
225:. Before her second year of medical school in 1906, the college merged with the
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was chosen to be the first woman—and black person—to be honoured in this way.
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after no Toronto hospital would let her perform surgery. She died at age 103.
174:(February 10, 1878 – February 26, 1981), known throughout her career as
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675:"Builders & Pioneers | Business Leaders and Pioneers Who Went to U of T"
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742:
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257:
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332:
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801:"Civil Rights Pioneer Viola Desmond is First Canadian Woman on Currency"
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Jennie Smillie was born on February 10, 1878, on a farm outside of
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medical school during her time there. Due to a lack of options in
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191:
72:
644:"Women's History Month: Celebrating the pioneering women of WCH"
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and gynecological surgeries until her retirement in 1948.
834:"'To encourage and educate the next generation of women'"
738:"The distaff side of 1981... Canada: Strides, strife"
210:, to Benjamin Smillie (1839–1886) and Jane Smillie (
356:"Parkette to honour Canada's first female surgeon"
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855:
825:
831:
471:
730:
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615:Inspiring Women: A Celebration of Herstory
31:
832:Gouchie-Terris, Jennifer (May 16, 2024).
703:
581:
553:
316:Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre
283:
672:
612:Youngberg, Gail; Holmlund, Mona (2003).
524:Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
162:
307:. However, early civil rights activist
296:In 2013, Hensall dedicated and named a
247:Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania
154: 1948; died 1958)
118:Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania
924:20th-century Canadian women scientists
856:
813:from the original on February 22, 2019
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704:Greenaway, Norma (February 10, 1978).
440:. Toronto. March 3, 1981. p. 11.
353:
229:’s medical school, making the school
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685:from the original on August 22, 2018
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554:Wirtzfeld, Debrah A. (August 2009).
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530:from the original on August 22, 2018
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648:Women’s College Hospital Foundation
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750:from the original on March 6, 2019
718:from the original on March 6, 2019
16:Canadian female surgeon, 1878–1981
14:
935:
894:People from Huron County, Ontario
746:. December 31, 1981. p. 52.
598:
556:"The history of women in surgery"
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223:Ontario Medical College for Women
184:Ontario Medical College for Women
95:Ontario Medical College for Women
899:20th-century Canadian physicians
799:Kassam, Ashifa (March 9, 2018).
520:"International Women's Day 2017"
291:Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
792:
762:
673:Brearton, Steve (Spring 2018).
151:
706:"Centenarian reached her goal"
679:University of Toronto Magazine
666:
636:
354:Nixon, Scott (July 17, 2013).
131:First female surgeon in Canada
1:
914:20th-century women physicians
338:
884:University of Toronto alumni
770:"A Brief History of Hensall"
7:
561:Canadian Journal of Surgery
321:
10:
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390:"Jennie Smillie Robertson"
889:Canadian women physicians
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618:. Regina, Saskatchewan:
269:Women's College Hospital
202:Early life and education
196:Women's College Hospital
172:Jennie Smillie Robertson
122:Women's College Hospital
25:Jennie Smillie Robertson
879:Canadian gynaecologists
85:Mount Pleasant Cemetery
776:. September 12, 2016.
360:SouthWesternOntario.ca
284:Later years and legacy
186:which merged into the
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909:20th-century surgeons
874:Canadian centenarians
262:gynecological surgery
227:University of Toronto
188:University of Toronto
180:gynecological surgery
166:
109:Physician and surgeon
99:University of Toronto
774:villageofhensall.com
394:Mount Pleasant Group
305:a Canadian banknote
919:Women centenarians
437:The Globe and Mail
366:on August 22, 2018
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654:on April 13, 2021
526:. April 8, 2017.
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65:February 26, 1981
50:February 10, 1878
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208:Hensall, Ontario
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54:Hensall, Ontario
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69:(aged 103)
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841:. Retrieved
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806:The Guardian
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782:. Retrieved
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743:Windsor Star
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720:. Retrieved
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652:the original
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368:. Retrieved
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258:oophorectomy
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251:Philadelphia
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67:(1981-02-26)
18:
869:1981 deaths
864:1878 births
477:Harvey, Joy
333:Emily Stowe
328:Jessie Gray
298:pocket park
114:Employer(s)
858:Categories
817:August 28,
784:August 28,
689:August 22,
534:August 22,
404:August 22,
370:August 22,
339:References
46:1878-02-10
574:0008-428X
487:Routledge
446:0319-0714
274:abdominal
91:Education
838:SaltWire
811:Archived
778:Archived
754:March 6,
748:Archived
722:March 6,
716:Archived
683:Archived
658:April 7,
592:19680519
528:Archived
479:(2003).
398:Archived
322:See also
216:Seaforth
75:, Canada
56:, Canada
843:May 20,
583:2724816
243:Toronto
192:Toronto
156:
148:
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73:Toronto
626:
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237:Career
136:Spouse
150:(
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845:2024
819:2018
786:2018
756:2019
724:2019
691:2018
660:2021
624:ISBN
588:PMID
570:ISSN
536:2018
491:ISBN
442:ISSN
406:2018
372:2018
62:Died
40:Born
578:PMC
212:née
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152:m.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
