Visit to the Royal Society of Medicine – 4 May 2017

Ten Freemen of the Guild were recently given the wonderful opportunity of spending a very pleasant evening at the Royal Society of Medicine. We were invited by Janice Liverseidge of the RSM. After a welcome introduction to the building and the history of the RSM over a cup of tea, Janice introduced us to Robert Greenwood, The RSMs Heritage Officer, Archivist and Senior Librarian who showed us around the extensive library, heritage centre, rare books collection and the current exhibition.  The exhibition told the story of John Elliotson, a nineteenth century physician, and his battle to promote mesmerism – hypnotism as it was later renamed – in the face of furious opposition from the medical establishment and medical press – all fascinating. The Guild members were then shown around the sensitively and beautifully refurbished old building; the academic areas with meeting rooms and lecture theatres and the extensive club areas and we learnt about the society’s relevance in the 21st century including the RSM’s charitable function and role as one of the country's major providers of post-graduate medical education .

We finished with a welcome glass of wine and of course, plenty of chatter! There was an unplanned reunion of Middlesex nurses from the Guild which perfectly demonstrates our Guild’s value in fellowship and friendship.

Many of those attending (if not already members) are going to make the most of the new arrangement by which Guild Members can join the RSM  for a reduced rate. There are many advantages of being a member of the RSM, all highlighted on both their website www.rsm.ac.uk and on ours here . 

Our thanks go to Julia Mingay who forged the link with the RSM on our behalf but was unfortunately not able to attend on the day due to a work commitment and to Janice and her colleagues from the RSM for their hospitality.

Hilary Andrews