Royal Society of Medicine
Encyclopedia
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a British
charitable organisation whose main purpose is as a provider of medical education, running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.
when leading members of the Medical Society of London
split from the society to form a new society that would bring together branches of the medical profession "for the purpose of conversation on professional subjects, for the reception of communications and for the formation of a library
". It adopted the current name of Royal Society of Medicine in 1907 when a number of independent societies, including the Epidemiological Society founded in 1850, whose members had included John Snow
, merged with the society under a new Royal Charter
.
The headquarters of the RSM are in an Edwardian baroque building completed in 1912 by John Belcher
at 1 Wimpole Street, London and contain one of the largest postgraduate medical libraries in Europe. The Society publishes an eponymous Journal, the JRSM. For those potentially interested in becoming a doctor and wanting to know what it entails, the society also publishes a comprehensive guide to medical school application, entitled A career in medicine. The society also owns the nearby Chandos House, designed by the 18th century architect Robert Adam
, which it runs as a venue facility.
Scientists are elected to the Society following nomination and committee review. It takes members from a wide range of professions including medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and allied healthcare specialities. It also welcomes students members of medicine, dentistry and veterinary science to join. An elite group of physicians or scientists are elected annually to fellowship or as Honorary Fellows. Elected fellows correspond to members of the Institute of Medicine in the USA.
On July 20, 2010, Professor Parveen Kumar was appointed as the President of the Society. Prior to this, the President of the Society was Robin C. N. Williamson
.
It is not to be confused with the older Royal Medical Society
of Edinburgh
, Scotland
, or the even older Royal Society
and Society of Apothecaries of London.
The 2008 New Authored Book Award went to Professor Michael Wilson for his work Bacteriology of Humans: An Ecological Perspective .
Later Honorary Follows have included:
’s discovery of a means of smallpox
vaccination
. It is awarded periodically to individuals who have undertaken distinguished work in epidemiological research.
The medal was designed in Bronze by Allan Wyon. It features Jenner’s face on one aspect and the symbol of the Epidemiological Society, the Earth, on the reverse. The medal was re-cast following the evolution of the Society into the Section of Epidemiology at the RSM in 1907. Photographs of the medal may be found in The History of the Royal Society of Medicine published in 2001.
It was first awarded to Sir William Henry Power
who was the then Medical Officer for London and had formulated the theory of aerial conveyance of smallpox and chaired the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis
.
As of June 2008, the Royal Society of Medicine launched an online postgraduate exam revision site: examdoctor. This new resource is aimed at helping postgraduates through the Royal College and other professional exams.
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...
charitable organisation whose main purpose is as a provider of medical education, running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.
History and overview
The society was originally founded on 22 May 1805 as the Medical and Chirurgical Society of LondonMedical and Chirurgical Society of London
The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London was a learned society of physicians and surgeons which was founded in 1805 by 26 personalities in these fields who had left the Medical Society of London because of disagreement with the autocratic style of its president, James Sims...
when leading members of the Medical Society of London
Medical Society of London
The Medical Society of London is one of the oldest surviving medical societies in the United Kingdom ....
split from the society to form a new society that would bring together branches of the medical profession "for the purpose of conversation on professional subjects, for the reception of communications and for the formation of a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
". It adopted the current name of Royal Society of Medicine in 1907 when a number of independent societies, including the Epidemiological Society founded in 1850, whose members had included John Snow
John Snow (physician)
John Snow was an English physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered to be one of the fathers of epidemiology, because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1854.-Early life and education:Snow was born 15 March...
, merged with the society under a new Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
.
The headquarters of the RSM are in an Edwardian baroque building completed in 1912 by John Belcher
John Belcher (architect)
John Belcher was an English architect.Belcher was born in Southwark on 10 July 1841, London. His father of the same name was an established architect. The son was articled with his father, spending two years in France from 1862 where he studied contemporary architecture...
at 1 Wimpole Street, London and contain one of the largest postgraduate medical libraries in Europe. The Society publishes an eponymous Journal, the JRSM. For those potentially interested in becoming a doctor and wanting to know what it entails, the society also publishes a comprehensive guide to medical school application, entitled A career in medicine. The society also owns the nearby Chandos House, designed by the 18th century architect Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
, which it runs as a venue facility.
Scientists are elected to the Society following nomination and committee review. It takes members from a wide range of professions including medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and allied healthcare specialities. It also welcomes students members of medicine, dentistry and veterinary science to join. An elite group of physicians or scientists are elected annually to fellowship or as Honorary Fellows. Elected fellows correspond to members of the Institute of Medicine in the USA.
On July 20, 2010, Professor Parveen Kumar was appointed as the President of the Society. Prior to this, the President of the Society was Robin C. N. Williamson
Robin C. N. Williamson
Robin C. N. Williamson is Professor and Head of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hammersmith Hospital, London and a former Dean and president of the Royal Society of Medicine ....
.
It is not to be confused with the older Royal Medical Society
Royal Medical Society
The Royal Medical Society is the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom . Known originally as 'the Medical Society' when it was established in 1737, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1778...
of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, or the even older Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and Society of Apothecaries of London.
New Authored Medical Book Award
The Society of Authors administers the prize annually for medical books published in Britain. The principal aim of the prize is to encourage authors who work in the UK and write for medical students, medical professionals or the general public.The 2008 New Authored Book Award went to Professor Michael Wilson for his work Bacteriology of Humans: An Ecological Perspective .
Presidents
Honorary Fellowships
The origins of the Society's Honorary Fellowship may be traced back to the first meeting in 1805 of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, when the following resolution was passed: 'That Gentlemen who have eminently distinguished themselves in Sciences connected with Medicine, but who are not of the Medical Profession, or do not practise therein, be admissible as Honorary Members'. A further resolution elected the following inaugural Honorary Members:- Sir Joseph BanksJoseph BanksSir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
Bt KB, - Sir Charles BlagdenCharles BlagdenSir Charles Brian Blagden FRS was a British physician and scientist. He served as a medical officer in the Army and later held the position of Secretary of the Royal Society...
, - Dr Aikin
- Humphry DavyHumphry DavySir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
Esq, - Charles HatchettCharles HatchettCharles Hatchett FRS was an English chemist who discovered the element niobium.- Biography:Hatchett was born, raised, and lived in London...
Esq, - Edward Charles HowardEdward Charles HowardEdward Charles Howard FRS the youngest son of Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, was a British chemist who has been described as the first chemical engineer of any eminence....
Esq, - Smithson TennantSmithson TennantSmithson Tennant FRS was an English chemist.Tennant is best known for his discovery of the elements iridium and osmium, which he found in the residues from the solution of platinum ores in 1803. He also contributed to the proof of the identity of diamond and charcoal. The mineral tennantite is...
Esq, - Dr WollastonWollaston-Places:Australia* John Wollaston Anglican Community School, private school in Kelmscott, Perth, Western Australia* Wollaston, Western Australia, suburb of Bunbury, Western AustraliaCanada* Wollaston Islands...
Later Honorary Follows have included:
- Charles DaubenyCharles DaubenyCharles Giles Bridle Daubeny was an English chemist, botanist and geologist.Daubeny was born at Stratton near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, the son of the Rev. James Daubeny. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford under Dr. John Kidd...
- Thomas HuxleyThomas HuxleyThomas Henry Huxley PC FRS was an English biologist, known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution....
- Richard OwenRichard OwenSir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
- Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
- Louis PasteurLouis PasteurLouis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...
- Sir William Jenner
- Samuel WilksSamuel WilksSir Samuel Wilks, 1st Baronet , was a British physician and biographer.-Early life:Samuel Wilks was born on 2 June 1824 in Camberwell, London, the second son of Joseph Barber Wilks, a cashier at the East India House...
- Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
- Sir MacFarlane Burnet: Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine & Physiology
- Sir Richard DollRichard DollSir William Richard Shaboe Doll CH OBE FRS was a British physiologist who became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th century, turning the subject into a rigorous science. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems...
: Globally recognised authority on smoking and cancer - Sir Donald AchesonDonald AchesonSir Donald Acheson KBE was a British physician and epidemiologist who served as Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom from 1983–91...
: CMO and spearhead of UN medical relief envoy in Sarajevo - Prof Jerry Morris: Expert on exercise and cardio-vascular disease
- Sir George GodberGeorge GodberSir George Edward Godber, GCB served as Chief Medical Officer for Her Majesty's Government in England from 1960–1973 and was instrumental in the establishment of the National Health Service ....
: CMO and leading light in health planning & education - Sir Kenneth CalmanKenneth CalmanSir Kenneth Charles Calman, KCB, DL, FRSE is a Scottish cancer researcher and former Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, and then England. He was Warden and Vice-Chancellor of Durham University from 1998 to 2006, before becoming Chancellor of the University of Glasgow. He has held the position of...
: CMO and fundamental restructuring of medical education - Michael ShepherdMichael Shepherd (psychiatrist)Michael Shepherd, CBE, FRCP, FRCPsych , FAPA , FAPHA was one of the most influential and internationally respected psychiatrists of his time, formerly Professor of Epidemiological Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist, The Maudsley Hospital, London and author of a number...
CBECBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
– eminent psychiatrist and driving force behind the increased role played by NHS general practitioner in the treatment of patients with psychiatric illness.
Edward Jenner Medal
The award was founded in 1896 by the Epidemiological Society (1850–1907) to commemorate the centenary of Edward JennerEdward Jenner
Edward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire...
’s discovery of a means of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
. It is awarded periodically to individuals who have undertaken distinguished work in epidemiological research.
The medal was designed in Bronze by Allan Wyon. It features Jenner’s face on one aspect and the symbol of the Epidemiological Society, the Earth, on the reverse. The medal was re-cast following the evolution of the Society into the Section of Epidemiology at the RSM in 1907. Photographs of the medal may be found in The History of the Royal Society of Medicine published in 2001.
It was first awarded to Sir William Henry Power
William Henry Power
Sir William Henry Power was a British medical doctor. He was Chief Medical Officer of England from 1900 to 1908, and in 1907 he was awarded the Buchanan Medal....
who was the then Medical Officer for London and had formulated the theory of aerial conveyance of smallpox and chaired the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Recipients include
- William Henry PowerWilliam Henry PowerSir William Henry Power was a British medical doctor. He was Chief Medical Officer of England from 1900 to 1908, and in 1907 he was awarded the Buchanan Medal....
(1st-1896) - Charles Louis Alphonse LaveranCharles Louis Alphonse LaveranCharles Louis Alphonse Laveran was a French physician.In 1880, while working in the military hospital in Constantine, Algeria, he discovered that the cause of malaria is a protozoan, after observing the parasites in a blood smear taken from a patient who had just died of malaria.He also helped...
(2nd-1902) - Patrick MansonPatrick MansonSir Patrick Manson was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology and was the founder of the tropical medicine field....
(3rd-1912): - Sidney Monckton Copeman (?th-1925 or 1935)
- Thomas Henry Craig Stevenson (? uncertain, before 1933, see ref)
- Arthur Newsholme (?th-1938)
- AT Glenny (?th-1953): for contributions to diphtheriaDiphtheriaDiphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
immunisation - Leonard ColebrookLeonard ColebrookLeonard Colebrook FRS was an English physician and Bacteriologistwho in 1935 showed Prontosil was effective against haemolytic streptococcus in childbirthand hence a cure for puerperal fever...
(?th-1962) - Alexander D Langmuir (17th-1979)
- Richard DollRichard DollSir William Richard Shaboe Doll CH OBE FRS was a British physiologist who became the foremost epidemiologist of the 20th century, turning the subject into a rigorous science. He was a pioneer in research linking smoking to health problems...
(?th-1981): for outstanding studies on the epidemiology of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the... - Karel RaškaKarel RaškaKarel Raška was a Czech physician and epidemiologist, who headed the successful international effort during the 1960s to eradicate smallpox.He was a Director of the WHO Division of Communicable Disease Control since 1963. His new concept of eliminating the disease was adopted by the WHO in 1967...
(19th-1984): for work towards worldwide eradication of smallpox - N Spence Galbraith (21st-before 1991)
- Donald AchesonDonald AchesonSir Donald Acheson KBE was a British physician and epidemiologist who served as Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom from 1983–91...
(?th-1993): for the advancement of public health - Donald HendersonDonald HendersonDonald Ainslie Henderson, known as D.A. Henderson, is an American physician and epidemiologist, who headed the international effort during the 1960s to eradicate smallpox. , he is a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Biosecurity and a professor of...
(?th-1996): for work towards worldwide eradication of smallpox - Rosemary RueRosemary RueDame Rosemary Rue, DBE, FRCP, FFPHM, FRCPsych, FRCS was a British physician and civil servant, most notable as the one-time regional general manager/medical officer of the Oxford Regional Health Authority.She was also:* President of the Medical Women’s Federation * President of...
(?th-2001): first woman president of the Faculty of Community Medicine (now the Faculty of Public Health) and pioneer of women in medicine
Publications
The Royal Society of Medicine Press is the publishing arm of the RSM. Growing rapidly in recent years it is now recognised as one of the leading medical society publishers. RSM Press publishes books, journals and online resources for health professionals in training and in practice.As of June 2008, the Royal Society of Medicine launched an online postgraduate exam revision site: examdoctor. This new resource is aimed at helping postgraduates through the Royal College and other professional exams.
- 1809 – 1907: Medico-Chirurgical TransactionsMedico-Chirurgical TransactionsMedico-Chiurgical Transactions is a medical journal published from 1809 to 1907 by the Royal Medical and Chiurgical Society of London.It has been continued as Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine and since then as the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine....
(Med. Chir. Trans) - 1908 – 1977: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine
- Archive versions of the above two journals are available at PubMed Central. See external links section below.
- 1978–present: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
- The journal’s open access allows for all research articles and the editor’s column from each issue to be made available online for free, via PubMed Central. All articles are made free to access three years after publication. See external links section below.