fbpx

KidsKonnect

Jennie Trout Facts & Worksheets

Jennie Trout is best known as being the first female physician in Canada.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /People /Figures /Jennie Trout Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Jennie Trout Worksheets
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Jennie Trout is best known as being the first female physician in Canada. In order to become the first female physician in Canada, Jennie needed to overcome adversity from the men who dominated the industry at that time.

See the fact file below for more information on the Jennie Trout or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Jennie Trout worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND

  • Jennie was inspired to become a physician after she dealt with her own medical illness.
  • Jennie suffered from a serious nervous condition, which she treated with electrotherapy.

EARLY LIFE

  • Jennie Trout was born on April 21, 1841 in Kelso, Scotland. At the age of six, she moved to Canada with her parents. They settled in Stratford, Ontario.
  • Jennie’s parents, Elizabeth Kidd and Andrew Gowanlock, were both farmers. Jennie attended public school as a child and excelled in many subjects at a young age.
  • In 1860, Jennie moved to Toronto to attend “The Normal School”. This was one of the only schools in Canada that would accept women at the time.
  • Jennie graduated from the Normal School with a teaching degree in 1861.
  • After graduation, Jennie moved back to Stratford and began teaching (1861-1865).
  • Jennie married a man named Edward Trout on August 25, 1865.
  • After marrying Edward, Jennie quit her teaching job and moved with him to Toronto.
  • Shortly after their marriage began, Jennie began suffering from a nervous disorder. This illness would sometimes leave her unable to move.
  • Jennie found electrotherapy treatment helpful for her nervous disorder.
  • Jennie was motivated by her personal illness and treatment experience to become a physician.

MEDICAL SCHOOL

  • Jennie’s husband fully supported her dream to become a physician.
  • Previously, in 1867, Edward and his brother had created a financial journal that had become quite financially successful. Due to his financial success, Edward was able to help pay for Jennie’s medical school expenses.
  • Jennie and Edward moved into a home in Toronto with another woman named Emily Stowe. Both Jennie and Emily were applying to attend medical school at the University of Toronto (1869).
  • At the time, female students were not permitted to attend the Toronto School of Medicine.
  • After years of persistence, Jennie and Emily were able to attend a one-year qualifying course at the Toronto Medical School (1871). Jennie successfully graduated from the course a year later in 1872.
  • Jennie was one of the only women in the medical program, and as a result, she experienced harsh criticism and bullying from men in her classes.
  • Unfortunately for Jennie, upon her graduation in 1872, no medical schools in Canada would accept women.
  • Since no schools in medical Canada would accept women at the time Jennie graduated, she left Canada and attended the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
  • This school was known for being a Christian institution that worked with its students to perform missionary work.
  • For her final thesis, Jennie wrote about the medicinal benefits of using the opium poppy.
  • Jennie graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1875.
  • After her graduation, she moved back to Canada and wrote her final licensing exam with the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Ontario.
  • Jennie successfully passed her licensing exam and became the first woman in Canada to have a license to practice medicine (1875).
  • In 1880, Jennie’s long-time friend, Emily Stowe, became the second woman in Canada to receive the license to practice medicine.
  • Immediately after obtaining her license, Jennie set up her own medical practice with a friend she had made at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Emily Amelia Tefft.
  • At Jennie’s medical clinic, she and Dr. Emily Amelia Tefft specialized in the treatment of women. One of the services they offered their patients was electrotherapy.
  • Initially, Jennie offered free dispensary services to patients who could not afford it.
  • In order to pay for this program, Jennie joined speaking conferences in multiple cities, including Hamilton, Brantford, and Toronto.
  • The cost-free dispensary was too costly to run and was closed down after six months.
  • In 1877, Jennie and Emily opened up a new practice in Toronto called The Medical and Electro-Therapeutic Institute.
  • At this new practice, they offered electrotherapy services to women.
  • Their electrotherapy clinic was very successful in Toronto, so Jennie and Emily decided to open up more clinics in the surrounding areas.
  • Jennie and Emily opened up additional electrotherapy clinics in Hamilton and Brantford.
  • With the exception of one male physician, who was hired in 1880, these clinics were entirely run by women and for women.
  • Jennie retired as a doctor in 1882 due to her deteriorating health.

RETIREMENT & PERSONAL LIFE

  • After retiring as a physician at age 41, Jennie continued to advocate for the medical education of women.
  • Jennie became involved with the creation of the Women’s Medical College in Kingston, Ontario, in 1883. She donated approximately $10,000 towards its construction.
  • Jennie also donated money to the Toronto School of Medicine.
  • Later, both the Kingston Medical College and the Toronto School of Medicine would combine to become one school called the “Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto”.
  • Jennie’s strict Christian faith led her to join Christian missionary work overseas.
  • Jennie was a member of the Women’s Temperance Union.
  • This group was against alcohol and sought to ban its sale and consumption.
  • Jennie was also a member of the Association for the Advancement of Women.
  • In 1903, Jennie and her husband bought land in Florida and built a home there.
  • Jennie and Edward were “snowbirds”. This means that they spent the summer months in Canada and the winter months in Florida.
  • In 1908, Jennie and her husband permanently relocated to Hollywood, California.
  • Jennie passed away on November 20, 1921, in Hollywood.

Jennie Trout Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Jennie Trout across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Jennie Trout worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Jennie Trout who is best known as being the first female physician in Canada. In order to become the first female physician in Canada, Jennie needed to overcome adversity from the men who dominated the industry at that time.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Jennie Trout Facts
  • Design a Stamp
  • Opinion Piece
  • Medical Crossword
  • Trusty Timeline
  • Word Scramble
  • Sequence of Events
  • Heritage Minutes
  • Physician Wordsearch
  • Turn to Truth
  • Five Words

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Jennie Trout Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, April 2, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources