After receiving her degree in medicine, she returned to New York to find a job. Though it was difficult to find a job as a midwife, she hoped that the search would be easier with a medical degree. She quickly found out that it was no different as a woman. As a lady "doctor," her presence in public received scornful looks and Zakrzewska was quickly ostracized by the public. Eventually, Elizabeth Blackwell used the back parlor of her house as a doctor's office where Zakrzewska hung her physician's shingle for the first time. The tiresome rejections and repeated obstacles to practicing medicine that Blackwell and Zakrzewska encountered sparked the idea of creating their own infirmary to meet the medical demands of women and children. They traveled together and held events to raise money for their grand idea. On May 1, 1857, the New York Infirmary for Women and Children was in business. By 1859, the New York Infirmary stood on a solid foundation of funds with a growing number of patients. A typical day for Zakrzewska began at 5:30 a.m. and did not end until 11:30 p.m.