The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) was founded on the 22nd of May 1805 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 was originally known as The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London. It is not to be confused with the older Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, Scotland. It takes members from a wide range of professions including medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and allied healthcare specialities. It also welcomes students of medicine, dentistry and veterinary science to join. Its main purpose is as a provider of medical education running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.
The headquarters of the RSM are at 1 Wimpole Street, London and contain one of the largest postgraduate medical library 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 eighteenth century architect Robert Adam, which it runs as a venue facility. As of 2006, the President of the Society is Professor The Baroness Finlay of Llandaff FRCP FRCGP.
