 McConnell graduated from the University of Colorado as a Doctor of Medicine in 1925 and completed an internship at Denver General Hospital . She subsequently took on a position as a toxicologist in the coroner 's offices at the same hospital , making her the first female toxicologist in the Rocky Mountains area . She was appointed Denver 's city toxicologist in 1926 and became an assistant pathologist in 1927 , working alongside deputy coroner George Bostwick and city pathologist W. S. Dennis . Her appointment to city toxicologist made her the first woman to hold the position . 
