Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union (ICSMSU) is the

students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to ...

of the

Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England, and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Faculty of Medicine and was formed by the merger of several hist ...

. It is charged with representing and advocating for the educational, pastoral, social and extracurricular needs of all the undergraduate students within the Faculty of Medicine of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, and is a constituent union of

Imperial College Union Imperial College Union is the students' union of Imperial College London. It is host to many and varied societies, and has student bars situated around Albertopolis. The Union is based in the north wing of the Beit Quadrangle on Prince Consor ...

History

ICSMSU was formed in 1997 by the mergers of the Students' Unions of St Mary's Hospital Medical School,

Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis ...

(formerly

Charing Cross Hospital Medical School Charing Cross Hospital Medical School (CXHMS) is the oldest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. Charing Cross remains a hospital on the forefront of medicine; in recent times pioneering the clinical use of ...

and

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School 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 traditional name a ...

), and the

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

. Rivalry was abundant before and during the years or mergers. The 1954 film Doctor in the House was reportedly based on the behaviour of the St Mary's students.

Executive committee

The Union has one full-time sabbatical president, Sam Hammond, supported by 20 student volunteers, each covering areas such as academics, clubs & societies, entertainments, welfare, and the internal executive functioning of the Students' Union. The president is also the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headqua ...

ISC Chair, as well as a delegate to the United Hospitals Medgroup. There are also committee members of the Students' Union responsible for looking after students studying Medical Biosciences, which falls under the Imperial College School of Medicine.

Academics and Welfare

The Academic Chair and three MBBS academic officers, along with the respective year representatives, oversee the academic needs of the 6-year MBBS/BSc course and all students undertaking BSc courses. The Academic Officer for Medical Biosciences looks after needs specific to students undertaking the BSc Medical Biosciences (BMB) course. ICSMSU runs a highly successful "Mums and Dads" programme which aims to match up new students with older students on the same course, in order to provide pastoral and social support and a more informal basis.

Clubs and Societies

There are currently over 65 student-run clubs and societies dedicated for members of the ICSMSU. Many of the bigger clubs can trace their history back to the original hospital medical schools. Most of the clubs compete in the

United Hospitals United Hospitals is the historical collective name of the medical schools of London. They are all part of the University of London (UL) with the exception of Imperial College School of Medicine which left in 2007. The original United Hospitals ref ...

competitions, or send players to the combined teams. Notable clubs and societies include

Imperial Medicals Rugby Club Imperial Medicals Rugby Club ("Imperial Medics") is the name given to the rugby union team of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union, a modern amalgam of three formerly distinct hospital rugby clubs each with a long history, having ...

, ICSMSU Boat Club, ICSM Water Polo, Muslim Medics and Light Opera.

Sports

ICSMSU also has a strong sporting ethos inherited from its predecessors. It enjoys frequent success against the other London medical schools in the

and

National Association of Medics' Sports National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

competitions and in the

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

league. While medical students may join Imperial College Union (ICU) sports clubs (and non-medical students may join the medical clubs and societies), most prefer to participate in ICSMSU sports teams which, depending on the sport, may compete against

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

or other Imperial faculty teams such as the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bi ...

, such as in the annual Varsity competition, which involves teams from ICSMSU and ICU. The competition culminates in the

J.P.R. Williams John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949) is a former Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales in international rugby during their Golden Era in the 1970s. He became known universally as J. P. R. Williams (or sometimes just as JPR) aft ...

Cup, named after the highly successful Welsh rugby player and doctor J.P.R. Williams, who graduated from

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is an NHS hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Tru ...

in 1973, with the 1st XVs of

and ICU Rugby playing each other in front of a 1,500 strong crowd. Sir

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres an ...

, another St Mary's Hospital Medical School alumnus gives his name to the trophy for the annual varsity athletics meet.

Boat club

ICSMBC was formed in 1997 by merging the Medical School Rowing Clubs from St Mary's Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital and Westminster Boat Club. They row out of the

University of London Boat Club University of London Boat Club (ULBC; boat code ULO) is the rowing club for the University of London and its member institutions, many of which also have their own boat clubs. The club has its boathouse on the Thames in Chiswick, London, UK. I ...

boat house which is situated on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and F ...

and train at ICBC boathouse in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

. The current captain of ICSMBC is Killian Watkins. Predominantly the Club participates in United Hospital events, and a constituent club of the United Hospital Boat Club, though they also participate in races organised through

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...

, such as Head of the River.

Water Polo

ICSMSU

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

is the water polo team of Imperial College School of Medicine Students' Union. It came about pursuant to a merger of the

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is an acute general teaching hospital located in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approximately five miles east, in central L ...

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 th ...

, and St Mary's Hospital water polo clubs.

= History

= The club in its modern form was founded in 1997 following the merger of the St. Mary's Hospital Water Polo Club with the

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

and Westminster Hospitals Water Polo Club. One notable member of the constituent St Mary's Hospital Water Polo club was nobel laureate

Sir Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of what ...

. In 2008 the club agreed a joint venture into the BUCS league with the

Swimming and Water Polo Club. This brought immediate success with the Imperial College/Medicals side being crowned Tier Two Champions in 2009/10, and thus securing promotion to the Premier Tier for the 2010/11 season. The joint BUCS team performed strongly again in the 2012/13 season finishing third in the Premier Tier.

= Competitions

= The club focuses its efforts on the London Universities Sports League (LUSL), formerly known as the ULU League, in which it enters a mixed gender team and plays weekly matches against other London universities. The Varsity match against the Imperial College water polo team is played annually in March.

Light Opera

The origin of the medical school's

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

society is a 1943 production of

Gilbert and Sullivan's Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

'' by students at St Mary's. Despite a trend towards more modern musicals, the name was maintained during the 1997 merger to honour the society's history, which includes performances attended by then HRH Princess Elizabeth in 1945, HRH Princess Margaret in 1957, and HRH Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1981. Each year, Light Opera performs its main show in December and a so-called '24-Hour Opera' in April or May, hosts multiple 'Big Chill'

open mic An open mic or open mike (shortened from "open microphone") is a live show at a venue such as a coffeehouse, nightclub, comedy club, strip club, or pub, usually taking place at night, in which audience members may perform on stage whether t ...

nights, and participates in other showcases. The 24-Hour Opera is a musical chosen, planned, and auditioned without revealing the show's identity. It is announced to the cast, crew, and public on one evening and performed the next; all proceeds are donated to charity. The society maintains strong social traditions and also provides academic support for its numerous members. The current president of the society is Biranavi Kirupakaran.

Events

ICSMSU runs a full social calendar, including long-standing events and traditions from the original medical school student bodies. This includes Freshers' Fortnight, Shrove Tuesday Final Year Dinner, Halfway Dinner, 'Snow Ball', recognition dinners for ICSMSU Sports clubs, Arts clubs, and Volunteering & Academic societies, and RAG Week (with associated RAG events across the year as well).

Facilities

Charing Cross Campus

The main facilities for the medical students of the

are found in the Reynolds Building on the

campus. Here you can find facilities owned and run by ICSMSU, including th
Reynolds Bar
as well as a dance studio, clubs and society storage room and a common room. The Students' Union office is located on the ground floor.

South Kensington Campus

The Sir Alexander Fleming Building serves as the home of ICSM on the central South Kensington Campus. Here ICSMSU has a suite of offices for use of the President and SU, as well as a common room, locker room and merchandise shop.

Other Campuses

ICSMSU are responsible for the upkeep of the common room located on the ground floor of the Wolfson Building at the Hammersmith Hospital campus, and for lobbying the faculty and NHS trusts for the upkeep and improvement of student facilities at the other respective teaching hospital sites, including

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. Although the hospital has been at its present site since only 1993, the hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminst ...

and

Alumni

2004 saw the first set of ICSM doctors graduate, and so the ICSM Alumni Association was founded.About the ICSM Alumni Association
/ref> Run with heavy input by ICSMSU, the association aims to provide funding for the clubs and societies of the medical school, as well as offer support to students. Additionally, ICSMSU has a close affiliation with the St Mary's Hospital Association (SMHA) who equally supports students including through funding of grants, bursaries, and clubs and society awards.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Imperial College School Of Medicine Students' Union Clubs and societies of Imperial College London Medical and health student organizations Students' unions in London Imperial College Faculty of Medicine