Royal College of Physicians
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| Established | 1518 |
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| President | Jane Dacre |
| Location |
St. Andrew's Place London, NW1, United Kingdom |
| Members | 32,000 (2016) |
| Website | www |
The Royal College of Physicians is a British professional body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded in 1518, it set the first international standard in the classification of diseases, and its library contains medical texts of great historical interest.
The College hosts four training faculties: the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, the Faculty for Pharmaceutical Medicine, the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and the Faculty of Physician Associates. The College is sometimes referred to as the Royal College of Physicians of London to differentiate it from other similarly-named bodies. Its home in Regent's Park is one of the few post-war buildings to be granted Grade I listed status.
A small group of distinguished physicians, led by the scholar, humanist and priest Thomas Linacre, petitioned King Henry VIII to be incorporated into a College similar to those found in a number of other European countries. The main functions of the College, as set down in the founding Charter, were to grant licenses to those qualified to practice and to punish unqualified practitioners and those engaging in malpractice. This included apothecaries as well as physicians. It was founded as the College of Physicians when it received a Royal Charter in 1518, affirmed by Act of Parliament in 1523. It is not known when the name "Royal College" was first assumed or granted, but it was finally legally confirmed only in 1960 (by the Royal College of Physicians of London Act, which was primarily required in order to move the premises of the College outside of the Cities of London or Westminster to Regent's Park).
The college has been continuously active in improving the practice of medicine since its foundation, primarily though the accreditation of physicians. It is a member of the UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. It is sometimes referred to as the Royal College of Physicians of London to differentiate it from other similarly-named bodies. It was the first College of Physicians in Britain or Ireland. Its establishment followed the incorporation of the Barber-Surgeons of Dublin in 1446 (by Royal Decree of Henry VI of England as Lord of Ireland), which was the first medical corporation in Ireland or Britain; the Barber-Surgeons of Edinburgh were incorporated by the City of Edinburgh in 1505.
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