Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

The College was founded in 1599, by a Royal Charter from King James VI of Scotland.[3] The Charter was granted to Peter Lowe, a surgeon who trained in France, and author of The Whole Course of Chirurgerie (1597), and Robert Hamilton, a Scottish physician. The Charter also mentions by name the apothecary William Spang, who was granted the power to inspect and regulate the sale of drugs in the town.[4] The College originally had no corporate name but became known as the Facultie (1629), then the Facultie of Chyrurgeons and Physitians (1654). By the end of the 17th century the name was established as the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Powers were granted to examine and regulate surgical practice in the baronies of Glasgow, Renfrew and Dumbarton, and the districts or sheriffdoms of Clydesdale, Renfrew, Lanark, Kyle, Carrick, Ayr and Cunningham. Physicians were admitted on production of their MD diploma.[5]

The Faculty was incorporated with the Town Council to gain burgh privileges in 1656, and purchased a property on the Trongate in 1697. This was demolished and a purpose-built Faculty Hall was erected on the site in 1698. The Faculty Library was also founded in 1698. In 1791, the Faculty moved to a new hall in St Enoch Square and in 1862 to their current property on St. Vincent Street, part of the New Town lands developed by William Harley of Blythswood Square.. In 1909, the Faculty was allowed to add the prefix "Royal" to its name; and in 1962 the name was again changed to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow to bring it into line with its sister corporations.[6]

The Faculty was unique in that it included the professions of barber and apothecary in addition to those of surgeon and physician. In 1656 the surgeons and barbers jointly received a Letter of Deaconry from the Town Council, establishing them as a craft or trade, with representation in the Trades House. However, relations between the barbers and the surgeons deteriorated later the 17th century, until in 1722 they split and the Letter of Deaconry became null and void. The barbers received money to the value of their share in the Faculty Hall in the Trongate and a new, separate Letter of Deaconry from the Town Council.[7]

The Faculty defended its right to be the only body in Glasgow responsible for training and maintaining standards against the claims of the University of Glasgow. This resulted in extensive litigation in the early 19th century over the status of surgical degrees, which was eventually settled in the Faculty's favour. The Faculty offered a Licence for surgeons from 1785 which served as a basic medical qualification. The Double Qualification in medicine and surgery, established with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, was instituted in 1859 and was replaced by the Triple Qualification in 1884. This was a joint medical qualification between all three Scottish medical colleges. At the end of World War II the Goodenough Committee recommended that a medical degree be the sine qua non of entry to the medical profession. From that time onward the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has concentrated on postgraduate training, professional development and examinations.[6]

• FRCP(G) (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow qua Physician)
• FRCS(G) (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow qua Surgeon)
• FDS RCPSG (Fellowship in Dental Surgery of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow)
• FFTM RCPSG
• Formerly MRCS(G) (Member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow qua Surgeon)
• Intercollegiate MRCS (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland)
• Formerly MRCP(G) (Member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow qua Physician)
• Intercollegiate MRCP(UK) (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom)
• MFDS RCPSG (Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow)

The reason the post-nominal letters for the fellowships use "FRCP(G)" and "FRCS(G)" rather than something like "FRCPS(G)-P" and "FRCPS(G)-S" is that they are parallel in form with all other similar fellowship designations for physicians and surgeons, such as FRCP(E)/FRCS(E), FRCP(I)/FRCS(I), FRCP(Lon)/FRCS(Eng). The same is true for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, which grants the FRCP(C) and FRCS(C) fellowships.

Princess Alexandra's Room, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Scotland

The four surgical Colleges in the UK and Ireland received authorisation, through legislation laid out in The Dentist Act of 1878, to establish a qualification through examination that would lead to registration on the Dentist Register.[8][9][10] The dentist act of 1984 now supersedes this.[11] The register was held by the General Medical Council at that time. The first examination took place in 1879 and 'the Licence in Dental Surgery' was awarded by the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.[12][13]

In 1935, the College decided to create a Dental Committee that could provide advice on dental matters. In 1967 this committee became known as the Dental Council.[14]

1968 saw formation of the Joint Committee for Higher Training in Dentistry by the four Royal Colleges of Edinburgh, England, Glasgow and Ireland.

In 1990 a Dental Faculty was established to recognise the increasing role of Dental Fellows in the College. As a result, the Convenor of Dental Council was elevated to that of Dean.[12]

Role of the Dental Faculty

The Faculty of Dental Surgery is the professional group within the college with responsibility for dental surgeons. The Faculty set standards for dental practice through prescribing programmes of education and training, assessing their outcomes through examination, and delivering programmes of continuing professional development.[12]

Dental Examinations

Up until 1947 there was a continued demand for the Licence in Dental Surgery awarded by the Royal College. The University of Glasgow then took responsibility for undergraduate education of dental surgeons and began awarding degrees in Dentistry.[12]

The Fellowship in Dental Surgery (FDS) was first established by the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1947. The Glasgow College established its own FDS in 1967. Originally the FDS was the highest diploma in dentistry that could be awarded by the Colleges.[12]

In 1998 the Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) was established as a three part exam.[12]

As time progressed the MFDS was reconfigured into a two-part examination and eligibility to sit the exam was no longer restricted to those who had undertaken training in approved hospital or community posts. The MFDS is delivered jointly by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. The English and Irish colleges administer their own equivalent exams: Royal College of Surgeons England administer Membership of the Joint Dental Faculty and the Royal College Surgeons Ireland (MJDF RCSEng) administer Membership Faculty of Dentistry (MFD RCSI).

Dental Specialty Trainees have undergone Fellowship assessments since 1995, each undertaking a three-year minimum duration training programme.

A history of examinations and the qualifications awarded by the College for the dental faculty are listed in table 5 below.[15]

Dental Bursaries and awards

Professor Thomas Cyril White, Convenor of the Dental Council 1972–1974, bequeathed his estate to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow 'for the furtherance of postgraduate dental education and research'.

Professor White was awarded a chair in Orthodontics in 1963 at the University of Glasgow and went on to become Dean of the Dental School. Initially Professor White qualified with an Licence in Dental Surgery in Glasgow in 1933 and then Medicine and Surgery in 1935.

The Royal College holds an annual symposium and awards several prizes (Table 6) which include the T C white Medal for outstanding performance in the Part 2 MFDS examination.

The college administers other awards and grant schemes from other donors listed in Table 7.

The College Hall, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Scotland

• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
• Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons
• Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons

• Illingworth, Sir Charles. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Glasgow: 1980. 16 pp (No ISBN)
• Geyer-Kordesch, Johanna & MacDonald, Fiona. Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow. The History of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow 1599 - 1858. London: The Hambledon Press 1999. 478 pp ISBN 1-85285-186-4
• Hull, Andrew & Geyer-Kordesch, Johanna. The Shaping of the Medical Profession. The History of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow 1858 - 1999. London: The Hambledon Press 1999. 288 pp ISBN 1-85285-187-2

• Official website