Marie Zakrzewska sought admission into a professional medical society. One of the primary goals for women physicians was to gain acceptance by their peers and society. Admittance into a medical society was a vital way to achieve this because it would signal their social acceptance amongst their male colleagues, and thus the public. Her fellow male physicians encouraged her to apply to the Massachusetts Medical Society. Zakrzewska soon after applied for the honor. Even with the encouragement from the colleagues, they were unable to outvote her opponents. She was rejected from the professional medical society based on her gender.