LAS CONCEPCIONES DOCENTES SOBRE EL APRENDIZAJE ESPERADO

The first step toward becoming a doctor was easy for Maria. In a short time, she had completed the premedical program at the University of Rome and passed her exams. Then she was ready to begin studying at the university´s department of clinical medicine. The University, however, was not ready for her. There had never been a woman in the department and the professors did not want one.

No one knows how Maria managed to convince the University to accept her. She spoke with the head of the medical faculty. Professor Baccelli, who was also an important politician. He wanted to reform the Italian school system and universities, but he did not want women to study medicine, so he was no help. There were reports that she also spoke with Pope Leo XIII and that he helped her, though this story may not be true. It may only be one of the many legends that later surrounded Maria.

In any case, in 1892, Maria began to attend classes in clinical medicine. She was not received well by her fellow students. They laughted at her and made unpleasant comments about women doctors. The presence of a woman in their classes, especially an intelligent woman like Maria, clearly disturbed them. They did not like the fact that she received better grades than many of them, and they also did not like the way she took her studies so seriously. In fact, many medical students at that time wanted to become doctors only because that would improve their position in society. They were not interested in learning about medicine or in working as doctors.

Maria felt very differently about her studies. She was very interested, first of all, in the subjects themselves. Then, too, she wanted to lead a useful life and she believed she could do this best as a doctor.With these beliefs to stregthen her, she paid no attention to the other students. If someone was rude to her at the University, she just stared back at him. In time, her fellow students came to respect her strong nerves as well as her ability.

Only once did Maria have any doubts about her career. That was when she began to attend anatomy classes. These classes came as a terrible shock to her. Women in those days were not used to looking at or talking about people´s body parts. Both women and men, in fact, were clothes that almost completely covered their bodies. Women, especially, were never supposed to talk about bodily functions.

So Maria was extremely embarrased the first time she had to examine a naked body. She also hated the idea of working with dead bodies. When she went home after the first anatomy lesson, she felt so awful that she got sick to her stomach. She later wrote that she was ready at that point to quit studying medicine.

But she did not quit. The next day went she back. Somehow she managed to control her feelings and continue.

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