Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons
Encyclopedia
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification
Professional certification
Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task...

 to practise as a surgeon in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is bestowed by the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Royal College of Surgeons of England
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body and registered charity committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients, regulating surgery, including dentistry, in England and Wales...

, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...

 (chartered 1784), Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is an organisation dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and advancement in surgical practice, through its interest in education, training and examinations, its liaison with external medical bodies and representation of the modern surgical workforce...

 (chartered 1505), and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland.Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, this institution originally existed as a regulatory authority to ensure that...

 though strictly the unqualified initials refer to the London College. Several Commonwealth countries have similar qualifications, among them the FRCSC in Canada, FRACS in Australia and New Zealand, FCS(SA) in South Africa, FCSHK in Hong Kong.

The original fellowship was available in general surgery and in certain specialties - ophthalmic or ENT surgery, or obstetrics and gynaecology - which were not indicated in the initials. It came to be taken mid-way through training.

There are now a range of higher fellowships, taken at the end of higher specialist training and often in narrower fields, the first of which was FRCS (Orth) in orthopaedics. Others include FRCS (Urol) in urology
Urology
Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

 and FRCS (OMFS) in maxillofacial surgery.

The Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons

To avoid confusion, the original fellowship was renamed to either membership MRCS
Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...

 or associate fellowship (AFRCS). Unfortunately this introduced a new confusion, as the Royal Colleges also held qualifying examinations in medicine, after which most of them awarded licentiate diplomas (LRCP, LRCS, etc). However the Royal College of Surgeons of England used to award its membership at this level, in conjunction with the Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians

Mister or Doctor?

Holders of FRCS (and the new, but not old, Membership - MRCS) often choose for traditional reasons to relinquish their title of "Doctor", reverting to "Mr", "Mrs" or "Miss".

Until relatively recently the training as a surgeon was through an apprenticeship. At the end of which, if they had learn their trade in a large city, they were examined and given a diploma, while physicians from the middle ages had to hold a university degree in medicine before they could practice.

Today almost all surgeons, who are members of the Royal College, must first qualify as a Dr. of medicine and then undergo further postgraduate study and training through junior posts before they qualify as a surgeon. At that point many choose to stop prefixing their name with Dr. and revert the the prefix they used before qualifying. Within the medical profession in the United Kingdom this is a recognised mark of distinction.

Fellows

Original 300 Fellows of The Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS).
  • John Abernethy (surgeon)
    John Abernethy (surgeon)
    John Abernethy FRS was an English surgeon, grandson of the Reverend John Abernethy.He was born in Coleman Street in the City of London, where his father was a merchant. Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, he was apprenticed in 1779 to Sir Charles Blicke , a surgeon at St Bartholomew's...

     (1764–1831)
  • John Badley (surgeon)
    John Badley (surgeon)
    John Badley, F.R.C.S. student of John Abernethy at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London. His 1801 lecture notes of Abernethy are in the archives at the University of Birmingham School of Medicine....

     (1783–1870)
  • Daniel Wate (surgeon) (1791–1888)
  • Lady Sandra A. Michie (surgeon general) (1987-pres.)

See also

  • Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
    Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
    MRCS is a professional qualification for surgeons in the UK and IrelandIt means Member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In the United Kingdom, doctors who gain this qualification traditionally no longer use the title 'Dr' but start to use the title 'Mr', 'Mrs', 'Miss' or 'Ms'.There are 4 surgical...

  • Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
    Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
    Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, often listed as "FACS", is a post-nominal title used to indicate that the surgeon's education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with...

  • Fellowship in Dental Surgery FDSRCS England
    FDSRCS England
    Fellowship in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England .A Dental postgraduate professional qualification.It is bestowed by the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England....

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