Eloísa Díaz: between medicine, psychology and education

Abstract

Eloísa Díaz Insunza, the first Latin American female physician, completed her studies in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Chile in 1887 and worked a large part of her life as Medical Inspector of Public Schools of Santiago, Chile. In this article, the focus is placed on her “Test Memorandum” (1886) and her first Reports to the Ministry of Public Education (1899-1905), to appreciate the hygienist perspective that characterizes her proposals. We describe her intervention project that sought to integrate medical practice with psychology and education, to solve a social problem such as the degeneration of the Chilean race.