Westminster Hospital Medical School

Medical school in London, England

Further information: Timeline of Imperial College School of Medicine

Westminster Hospital Medical SchoolType| Medical school

|

Established| 1834 (Westminster Hospital Medical School)
1984 (Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School)
1997 (Imperial College School of Medicine)
Location|

London

England

Affiliations| Imperial College London

The Westminster Hospital Medical School was one of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. It was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Westminster Hospital almost from the hospital's foundation in 1719.

The hospital and medical school moved to larger buildings several times in the decades that followed, leading to conflict among the staff on several occasions. Guthrie's forceful urgings on retaining the location of the hospital and school on one occasion resulted in an argument climaxing in a pistol duel between two surgeons (though each missed each other).[citation needed]

One early Westminster student was John Snow, later the founder of modern epidemiology.

In 1905, the teaching of pre-clinical subjects ended at Westminster, and moved to King's College. The school was taken over by the army in 1914 to train pathologists for the war effort. Student numbers and the school suffered as a result, and it was only after 1920 that numbers improved.

In 1984, Westminster Hospital Medical School merged with local rivals Charing Cross Hospital Medical School to form Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School. This move was part of a general series of mergers in the London medical schools in the early 1980s. Westminster Hospital moved to the site of St Stephen's Hospital on Fulham Road in Chelsea in 1993, and changed its name to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. In 1997, CXWMS merged with the National Heart and Lung Institute at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and Imperial College London, whose medical department was St Mary's Hospital Medical School. The new institution was called Imperial College School of Medicine, and was at the time the largest medical school in the UK.

## Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner

[edit]

The Shrove Tuesday Dinner started in 1940 during the Blitz at the old Westminster Hospital. Students and house staff decided to have dinner to alleviate the oppressive mood. A senior member of staff was invited to address the assembled doctors and whilst he was talking a caricature was sketched on the tablecloth by one of his audience. It was cut out, passed round, signed and mounted and started the unbroken tradition that has evolved into the Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner.[1]

Since 1997, the Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner has since been a fully student-led event run by the Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union.

## References

[edit]

* https://www.union.ic.ac.uk/medic/stfyd/history/

1. ^ "Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner 2019". www.stfyd.co.uk. Retrieved 26 March 2019.

51°30′01″N 0°07′45″W﻿ / ﻿51.5003°N 0.1291°W﻿ / 51.5003; -0.1291

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Imperial College School of Medicine

* Imperial College Faculty of Medicine
* Imperial College London

Predecessors|

* Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School
* Charing Cross Hospital Medical School
* Royal Postgraduate Medical School
* St Mary's Hospital Medical School
* Westminster Hospital Medical School

Hospitals|

* Central Middlesex Hospital
* Charing Cross Hospital
* Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
* Ealing Hospital
* Hammersmith Hospital
* Harefield Hospital
* Hillingdon Hospital
* Mount Vernon Hospital
* Northwick Park Hospital
* Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital
* Royal Brompton Hospital
* St Mark's Hospital
* St Mary's Hospital
* St Peter's Hospital
* Western Eye Hospital
* West Middlesex University Hospital

Student life|

* The Huxley Lecture
* Rugby Club
* Students' Union
* United Hospitals Cup

Affiliates|

* United Hospitals

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United Hospitals

Members|

| Current|

* Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
* Imperial College School of Medicine
* King's College London School of Medicine
* Royal Veterinary College
* St George's, University of London
* UCL Medical School

|

Former|

* Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School
* Charing Cross Hospital Medical School
* Guy's Hospital Medical School
* King's College Medical School
* London Hospital Medical College
* Middlesex Hospital Medical School
* Royal Free Hospital Medical School
* Royal Postgraduate Medical School
* St Bartholemew's Hospital Medical School
* St Mary's Hospital Medical School
* St Thomas's Hospital Medical School
* United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals
* University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
* University College Medical School
* Westminster Hospital Medical School

Student life|

* The Medical Student
* United Hospitals Cup
* United Hospitals RFC
* United Hospitals Athletics Club

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