I am the RSM

Principal, College of Health

As a chiropractor, being associated with the broader healthcare continuum through the Royal Society of Medicine is invaluable.

It’s a good place for meeting up and networking with other colleagues and I like the central London location, which makes it a very affordable place to stay.

The digital resources are very useful too, and we’ve encouraged our student members to sign up for exactly that reason. All of our students’ written assignments have to be evidence-based, so they find the Library’s wide range of digital medical publications gives them the broader perspective on healthcare choices.

SAS Doctor and Tutor

As somebody who doesn’t live in London, the online offering has been invaluable, I’d say. From a cardiology standpoint, the bite-size, half-day or two- or three-hour sessions that have been organised have been very useful. It is easy to fit into a working day as well because you could perhaps just take two or three hours of study leave or view it in your spare time, which is always very handy.

But I’ve also enjoyed coming in person from time to time. Because it is a very lovely building and it’s quite special to come in and be part of that history as well. It’s very tranquil and the staff are always super polite and extremely welcoming.

Infectious Diseases & Microbiology Doctor

Being around people who have already done amazing things in medicine at such an early stage of my career has been really helpful.

One of our unique selling points is that we are multispecialty, but also that we’re not just focused on doctors.

The more time you spend in the RSM, the more people you meet, and the more you realise that it’s open to all types of health practice.

What I like about the RSM is I can be in a meeting with a zoologist, a general practitioner and an ophthalmologist. There is a different perspective from people coming from different specialties and with different expertise.

During my year in Boston, I was still able to join webinars. The accessibility of our content, now that it is online and you can watch it on demand as well as live, is really good.

Chief Executive, Patient Safety Learning

Talk to people who are members because you will find that people get valued, there’s a warmth. It’s not a kind of stuffy gentlemen’s club.

There’s a lovely building that can be used - because of my work and where I live, that’s really handy. But, for me, it’s the opportunity to meet a broad range of people, particularly some quite senior clinicians and others to explore the issues that are particularly interesting to me.

I do follow, contribute to and engage with the patient safety agenda but, as the former chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, I’m very interested in equality and diversity, and I think the RSM has got a very strong voice on that. I like the collaborative nature of the RSM. I like the resources. I like the people. I like the café.

Anaesthetic Specialty Doctor

My membership of the RSM gives me valuable opportunities to benefit from education in areas that I have an interest in, but which aren’t covered by the curriculum for my own specialty. Some of the public engagement events are also useful for seeing things not just from a medical perspective, but from the patient’s perspective too.

Being on an RSM section council has been a real benefit to me in terms of developing my own communication, management and leadership skills. It’s also helped me to work out what kind of direction I want to go in as a doctor.

Managing Director and Founder, cntxt

cntxt establishes and grows partnerships between UK and global organisations who have shared aims around primary health care development. As part of that, we host medical educational study tours in the UK, and we have identified the RSM as the perfect venue for the classroom-based elements of the programme. The space, the building, the venue and the history, it’s perfect for what we do and always gets incredible feedback due to the wow factor.

I’m not a clinician myself, nor an academic, so work with a variety of individuals and organisations who share our vision, to facilitate development programmes.

The RSM offers the perfect setting to meet my colleagues and develop my network further. It’s 25 minutes away for me personally, and due to its central London location, offers a perfect and very nice setting to have meetings and catch up.

Use of the building, at discounted rates, and the opportunity to meet and network are the biggest things for me. However, there are also synergies between what we and the RSM do in terms of education, so membership and the opportunity to collaborate is a no-brainer for me.

Consultant ENT and Head and Neck Surgeon, Wrexham Maelor Hospital

In Lithuania, not all ENT doctors do surgeries. I was dreaming about surgery, so I took a chance and came to the UK.

I joined the RSM quite early on. It represents all the variety and diversity of medicine. It gives different levels of opportunities for access to resources and education, whether it’s meetings, online, or the library.

It’s a magnificent place - it’s central and has such a unique feel. Then you see professors whose articles or books you’ve read and their students, and you have that opportunity to come and meet them, to chat with them. Everyone’s really friendly and open, and then you feel welcomed and eventually you join them like a family. Everyone is there for the same purpose.

Professor of Vascular Surgery, University of the West Indies

Having full access to a wide variety of journals is important to me as a researcher, as well as being able to attend the RSM’s education meetings which I find very useful in my specialty.

I’m based in Trinidad so attending the RSM’s online meetings helps me keep in touch with what is happening currently.

The masterclasses on complex surgical techniques are particularly helpful and interesting, benefiting both my patients and me. As a general and vascular surgeon I have to do these procedures occasionally and the masterclasses give me clinical ideas on surgical technique and approaches to difficult cases which I then pass on to my own students and junior staff.

Nutritional Scientist and Founder, The Urban Kitchen

I joined the RSM six years ago after attending many courses there and realised there was a cost benefit to becoming a member. I work in nutrition, specialising in cancer, and there is much valuable education available at the RSM, which expands my knowledge base.

My background is quite different from many other nutritionists and associates because I originally attended medical school, intending to become an oncologist before my move to nutrition. This means I sit in the middle of two camps of nutrition and medicine.

The CPD is crucial for my clinical practice and academic research, which I am becoming more deeply involved with. I’m also a younger breast cancer survivor and have a personal and professional interest in advances in this area.

I recommend membership for associate and younger members, as there is a huge wealth of knowledge to learn from; which you can apply to your practice, and you have access to the Library to read journals. If there are topics you would like to learn more about, you can explore them in a cost-effective way that’s evidence-led and science-based.

Chief Operating Officer, NHS England

You’re always at your happiest when you’re learning. I think there are four elements to a successful career; enjoyment, purpose, impact and learning. I’ve been privileged to have had a career which is meaningful. I’ve had the opportunity to make an impact. And I’m constantly learning. I’m not saying that every day has been another day in paradise, but it’s been an incredibly rewarding and enriching career.

The RSM is a great place to work, play and learn. It’s in a fantastic location, it’s well organised and it’s great value. Given what I do currently, I spend more time working than playing at the RSM, but I’m looking forward to availing myself of all the RSM has to offer when I retire from the NHS in September.

Deputy Director of the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College Cambridge

I was drawn to the RSM because it encourages the open exchange of ideas, rigorous debate and educational opportunities that stimulate advances on pressing healthcare matters.

The RSM’s wide-ranging membership offers the diverse environment needed for the comprehensive understanding and multi-perspective exploration of important issues, such as the social determinants of health, which is the focus of my research.

Seeing The Hon Julia Gillard AC, a fellow Australian, taking part in an RSM event really drove my interest in engaging with the RSM. I love the YouTube channel where I can catch up on what I can’t attend in-person.

GP and CEO, Data Care Solutions

Primary care is changing and what I love about the RSM is its versatility and breadth and how we can pull together the different specialties – medicine, surgery, digital healthcare and so on - to help improve our patients’ lives.

What I hear on the shop floor from patients gives me an opportunity to use the RSM as an educational platform, particularly for patients who are interested to know more about how they can manage their conditions.

I want to be a more active member and am looking forward to tapping into the proactive communities at the RSM to help address the hot issues in primary care right now.