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

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

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, 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, Climate Since records began in 198 ...

(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 () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, 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 Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

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, ...

. 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 foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was imprisoned for some time by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

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 Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, 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 Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language fam ...

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