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Royal College of Surgeons of England

Organisation headquarters in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London
Established	1800; 224 years ago (1800)
Type	Medical royal college
Headquarters	Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, England
Members	27,753 (2021)
President	Tim Mitchell
Affiliations	Academy of Medical Royal Colleges
Staff	228 (2021)
Website	www.rcseng.ac.uk

The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) is an independent professional body and registered charity that promotes and advances standards of surgical care for patients, and regulates surgery and dentistry in England and Wales. The college is located at Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It publishes multiple medical journals including the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Faculty Dental Journal, and the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

History

The origins of the college date to the fourteenth century with the foundation of the "Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London". Certain sources date this as occurring in 1368. There was an ongoing dispute between the surgeons and barber surgeons until an agreement was signed between them in 1493, giving the fellowship of surgeons the power of incorporation. This union was formalised further in 1540 by Henry VIII between the Worshipful Company of Barbers (incorporated 1462) and the Guild of Surgeons to form the Company of Barber-Surgeons. In 1745 the surgeons broke away from the barbers to form the Company of Surgeons. In 1800 the company was granted a royal charter to become the Royal College of Surgeons in London. A further charter in 1843 granted it the present title of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Members and Fellows of the College

The correct way to address a member or fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons is to use the title Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms, or Mx (not Dr). This system (which applies only to surgeons, not physicians) has its origins in the 16th century, when surgeons were barber-surgeons and did not have a medical degree (or indeed any formal qualification), unlike physicians, who, by the 18th century, held a university medical degree and could thus be referred to as "Doctor".

By the time the College of Surgeons received its royal charter in 1800, the Royal College of Physicians were insisting that candidates for membership of the College of Surgeons must first have a medical degree. Therefore, the ensuing years saw aspiring surgeons having to study medicine first and hence receive the title 'doctor'. Thereafter, having obtained the diploma of Member or Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons he would revert to the title "Mr" as a snub to the RCP. Nowadays the title "Mr" is used by Members of the college who have passed the diploma MRCS examination and the college addresses Members as "Mr" or "Ms".

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, the distinction is made in the following conversation:

"Come, come, we are not so far wrong after all," said Holmes. "And now, Dr. James Mortimer—"

"Mister, sir, Mister—a humble M.R.C.S."

Despite Mortimer's correction, he is referred to as "Dr. Mortimer" throughout the story.

A biographical register of fellows is available on Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online

Buildings

The Company of Surgeons moved from Surgeon's Hall in Old Bailey to a site at 41 Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1797. The British government presented the collection of John Hunter to the surgeons after acquiring it in 1799, and in 1803 the company purchased the adjoining house at 42 Lincoln's Inn Fields to house the collection, which forms the basis of The Hunterian Museum.

Construction of the first College building, to a design by George Dance the Younger, and James Lewis, took place on this site from 1805 to 1813. The company soon outgrew these premises and in 1834 No. 40, Lincoln's Inn Fields was acquired and demolished along with the George Dance building, of which only a portion of the portico was retained. Sir Charles Barry won the public competition to design a replacement, constructing a facade largely of artificial stone composed of cast blocks of concrete and stucco. Barry extended this building southwards following the acquisition of Copeland's Warehouse on Portugal Street, and the enlarged buildings opened in 1855.

The college buildings expanded to their current extent between 1888 & 1889, when additional wings were constructed on the sites of numbers 39 & 43 Lincoln's Inn Fields and two storeys were added to the Charles Barry Building by the architect Stephen Salter (b.1826, d.1896).

In 1941 a German incendiary bomb hit the college causing extensive damage that necessitated major rebuilding during the 1950s and 60s. The surviving portion of the earlier buildings were listed Grade II* on 24 February 1958.

Planning consent for a major rebuilding of the non-listed buildings of the Royal College of Surgeons was granted by Westminster City Council in January 2017. The redevelopment of building has been designed by the architecture practice Hawkins\Brown. Barry's famous north frontage and library will be preserved and restored and The Hunterian Museum will benefit from a new façade and entrance on Portugal Street, to the south of the site. A "topping out" ceremony for the new buildings was celebrated on 24 January 2020, but, as of January 2021, the buildings have not re-opened to the public.

The exterior of the building was one of the filming locations of Agatha Christie's Poirot episode The Mystery of the Spanish Chest.

Hunterian Museum

In 1799 the government purchased the collection of John Hunter which they presented to the college. This formed the basis of the Hunterian Collection, which has since been supplemented by others including an Odontological Collection (curated by A. E. W. Miles until the early 1990s) and the natural history collections of Richard Owen.

The Hunterian Museum is a member of The London Museums of Health & Medicine group, and displays thousands of anatomical specimens, including the Evelyn tables, surgical instruments, paintings and sculptures about medical individuals and medicine.

Faculties

• Faculty of Dental Surgery
• Faculty of General Dental Practice
• Faculty of Anaesthetists (until 1988)

Medals, awards and lectures

The Cheselden Medal was instituted in 2009 in honour of William Cheselden "to recognise unique achievements in, and exceptional contributions to, the advancement of surgery". The award is made at irregular intervals to reflect the outstanding qualities required of recipients and is deemed one of the college's highest professional honours.

The Royal Colleges' Bronze Medal was instituted in 1957 and is awarded jointly with the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. It is awarded annually "on the nomination of the Medical Group of the Royal Photographic Society for the outstanding example of photography in the service of medicine and surgery".

The Wood Jones Medal was instituted in 1975 to commemorate Frederic Wood Jones (Sir William Collins Professor of Human and Comparative Anatomy and Conservator of the Anatomy Museum 1945–52). It is awarded occasionally (triennially until 1994) by a Committee "for contributions to anatomical knowledge or the teaching of anatomy in the tradition of Frederic Wood Jones".

The Clement-Price Award was founded in 1958 with a gift of 1,000 guineas from members of the staff of the Westminster Hospital in honour of Sir Clement Price Thomas. It is awarded triennially, or at such other interval as the President may decide, by the council on the recommendation of the Fellowship Election and Prize Committee, "in recognition of meritorious contributions to surgery in its widest sense, without restriction of candidature".

The Lister Medal has been awarded since 1924 (mostly on a triennial basis), after the college was entrusted in 1920 with administrating the Lister Memorial Fund, in memory of pioneering British surgeon Joseph Lister. The award is decided in conjunction with the Royal Society, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Glasgow. In addition to being presented with a medal, the recipient delivers the Lister Oration at the college.

The Honorary Gold Medal was instituted in 1802 and is awarded at irregular intervals "for liberal acts or distinguished labours, researches and discoveries eminently conducive to the improvement of natural knowledge and of the healing art". Recipients to date include Sir Victor Negus, Sir Geoffrey Keynes, Sir Stanford Cade (all three in 1969), Professor Harold Ellis (1998), Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys (2002) and Dr Barry J. Marshall (2005).

The Bradshaw Lecture was founded in 1875 under the will of Mrs Sally Hall Bradshaw in memory of her husband, Dr William Wood Bradshaw. It is a biennial (annual until 1993) lecture on surgery, customarily given by a senior member of the council on or about the day preceding the second Thursday of December. (Given in alternate years, with the Hunterian Oration given in the intervening years). Not to be confused with the corresponding Bradshaw Lectures delivered to the Royal College of Physicians. See Bradshaw Lecture for list of past lectures and lecturers.

The Hunterian Oration was founded in 1853 when a bequest was made by the executors of John Hunter's will, to provide for an annual dinner and oration in memory of the famous surgeon. It is now delivered biennially.

Educational history

Prior to 1820, to meet the requirements of London's College of Surgeons, students would spend time in London and select courses of instruction in surgery by teachers at Guy's Hospital, St Thomas' – together known as London's Borough Hospitals – and as well as attend anatomy classes at private institutions such as William Hunter's anatomy school, attached for a time to Middlesex Hospital. Although at this time some students of surgery had already acquired the M.D. (or its equivalent) qualification, it was not until the 1830s that students of surgery were required to have obtained a medical degree at a university before commencing studies for membership of the Royal College of Surgeons. By the 1830s, medical schools in London at the University of London, St George's Hospital and King's College, London had been established and the influence of the private schools was diminished.

Today, the RCS offers a range of both on-line e-learning modules and hands-on practical workshops to facilitate the CPD for trainee and consultant surgeons across varies specialties.

Since May 2017, the RCS started to offer a Postgraduate Certificate in Surgery to junior surgical trainees. This qualification combined e-learning modules and practical causes "offer surgical trainees a high-quality, flexible and interactive way to build their surgical knowledge and skills" across different surgical specialties.

Current and past Presidents

Past Masters – Royal College of Surgeons

Past Masters – Company of Surgeons

See also

• Hunterian Oration
• Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
• Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
• Association of Surgeons in Training
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
• Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills

References

1. "Annual report and accounts 2020-21" (PDF). Royal College of Surgeons of England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
2. Fu, Louis Kuo Tai (February 2000). "The origins of surgery. 2: From barbers to surgeons". Annals of the College of Surgeons of Hong Kong. 4 (1). Wiley: 35–49. doi:10.1046/j.1442-2034.2000.00029.x. In 1368, a select group of surgeons formed the 'Guild of Surgeons Within the City of London', whose aim was to dissociate themselves from the barbers, but without much success.
3. Bishop, William John (1995). The Early History of Surgery. New York: Barnes and Noble. ISBN 978-1-56619-798-4.
4. Whitelaw, W. A., ed. (22 March 2003). The Proceedings of the 12th Annual History of Medicine Days (PDF). Calgary: University of Calgary. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2006., page 118
5. ^ "History of the RCS". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
6. ^ Loudon, I. (2000). "Why are (male) surgeons still addressed as Mr?". BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 321 (7276): 1589–1591. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7276.1589. PMC 1119265. PMID 11124190. the beginning of the 18th century, when physicians were distinguished by the possession of a university medical degree: an MD. Although many had acquired their MDs abroad with minimal effort or bought them for about £20 (about £800 today) from the University of Aberdeen or of St Andrews, the possession of a medical doctorate entitled physicians and no other medical practitioner to be addressed as "doctor." Eighteenth century surgeons, who were of course addressed as Mr, seldom had any formal qualification except in the case of the few who were Members of the Company of Surgeons. After the founding of the Royal College of Surgeons of London in 1800, however, it was customary for surgeons to take the examination for Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons and put MRCS or MRCSL after their name.
7. ^ "Survey of London: Volume 3, St Giles-in-The-Fields, Pt I: Lincoln's Inn Fields, ed. W Edward Riley and Laurence Gomme". British History Online. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
8. "Drawing - Royal College of Surgeons". MIT Libraries Dome. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
9. Ayre, Greg (16 November 2018). "An Architectural History of The Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
10. "The transformation of the College building: past, present and future". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
11. "THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, Non Civil Parish - 1222011 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
12. "Hawkins\Brown's redevelopment of Royal College of Surgeons receives planning permission". World Architecture Community. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
13. "Topping out' ceremony for rebuild of the Hunterian museum and surgeons' HQ". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
14. "On Location with Poirot - The Mystery of the Spanish Chest". Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
15. "Medical Museums". medicalmuseums.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
16. "Collections". Hunterian Museum. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
17. "Terms of reference for Fellowship, Election and Prize Committee". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
18. A Pupil of the Surgical School of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital (1837). "Divorce Of The Borough Hospitals". London Medical Gazette: Or, Journal of Practical Medicine. 19. London Medical Gazette: 714. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
19. Thompson, H. (1935). "Middlesex Hospital School Centenary (1835-1935)". British Medical Journal. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019. Hunter's school of anatomy was taken over by Sir Charles Bell in 1812, and became (by 1835) a medical school of Middlesex Hospital
20. Aminoff, M. (2 September 2016). Sir Charles Bell: His Life, Art, Neurological Concepts, and Controversial Legacy. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0190614973. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019. ..Prior to the 1820s, ...candidates for membership of the Royal College of Surgeons spent time in London selecting courses from (St Thomas' and Guy's Hospitals) and private anatomy schools
21. ^ Kane, Nicola. "RCS to offer Postgraduate Certificate in Surgery — Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
22. "Tim Mitchell elected as next President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England". Royal College of Surgeons. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
23. "Professor Neil Mortensen elected next President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England". 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
24. "Professor Derek Alderson elected as President of the Royal College of Surgeons". Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
25. "First Female President Elected at the Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons of England. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
26. "New President for Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons of England. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
27. "New President for Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons of England. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
28. "New President for Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons of England. 14 July 2005. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
29. "Hugh Phillips". The Independent. London. 16 July 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
30. "New President for Royal College of Surgeons". Royal College of Surgeons of England. 7 July 2004. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
31. "A President in shirtsleeves". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 95 (10): 518–519. October 2002. doi:10.1177/014107680209501016. ISSN 0141-0768. PMC 1279186.
32. G, H. H. (4 January 1994). "Lord Porritt". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2009.

External links

• Official website
• Hunterian Museum and Wellcome Museum website
• Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online
• London Museums of Health and Medicine

51°30′55″N 0°6′57″W / 51.51528°N 0.11583°W / 51.51528; -0.11583

• Royal College of Surgeons of England
• 1745 establishments in England
• Dental organisations based in the United Kingdom
• Professional associations based in the United Kingdom
• Medical royal colleges
• Surgical organisations based in the United Kingdom
• Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
• Organisations based in London with royal patronage
• Organisations based in the City of Westminster
• 14th-century establishments in England
• Learned societies of the United Kingdom
• Charles Barry buildings