Kornelija Sertić (1897 – 1988) was the first woman to graduate from the

School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

in Zagreb, in 1923. The school opened in 1917.

Early life

Sertić was born in the Croatian town of

Sveti Ivan Zelina Sveti Ivan Zelina () is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia. Geography Sveti Ivan Zelina is north-east from Zagreb, connected: * by A4 highway (Zagreb - Sv.Helena), then state road Sv.Helena - Sveti Ivan Zelina, Population In the 2011 Croatian ce ...

(at that time a part of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy). In addition to her studies in Zagred, she also studied at the Medical Faculty in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria. When she graduated in Zagreb on 30 November 1923, she was the first women to do so.

Career

Sertić specialized in pediatrics and became a specialist in tuberculosis and

lung diseases Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, br ...

. From 1924 to 1928, she worked at the Epidemiological Institute for Dr. Berislav Borčićand and from there went to a children's dispensary in Zagreb as a pediatrician. By winning a scholarship from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

she was able to work at the Paris Clinic for Prevention of Children's Tuberculosis. Beginning in 1928, she served as a specialist in lung diseases (especially tuberculosis) at a state hospital as well as at a dispensary in Zagreb. She also worked in the Zagreb school polyclinic as deputy chief. From 1930 to 1943, she organized the National Health Center in Sušak and health centers in the Croatian Littoral. During World War II she was imprisoned for some time by the Gestapo but was released after intervention by a general, which allowed her to support her family as a physician for members of the Croatian Chamber of Crafts. She also saw private patients in her office at 17 Hatzova Street where she administered pneumothorax to patients with tuberculosis. She treated some patients for free. After the war's end, Sertić became director of the

Trešnjevka Trešnjevka is a neighborhood of Zagreb, Croatia. Forming one of the city's inner neighborhoods, it is located in the city's southwestern area. At approximately 15.67 km² in area and a population of slightly over 121,000, it is one of the most ...

Health Center in Zagreb. In 1948, she travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark on scholarship to study vaccinations and tuberculosis control. She received many awards for her work and was named president of the TB section of the Croatian Red Cross.

Personal life

In 1932, Sertić married her colleague, pulmonologist and tuberculosis specialist, Stanko Ibler. She died in 1988 in Zagreb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sertic, Kornelija Croatian pediatricians 20th-century women physicians University of Zagreb alumni 1988 deaths Croatian pulmonologists Year of birth missing Place of death missing Date of death missing Women pediatricians 20th-century Croatian women