The Maryland State Medical Society, commonly known as MedChi, a shortened form of the state medical society's full and ancient historic name: "The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland" is the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

state-level affiliate of the national body of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

, founded in 1799. It represents the interests of physicians and citizens in the state of Maryland "from unscrupulous and untrained practitioners holding themselves out as health care providers." "MedChi" has offices in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, the state capital.

History

MedChi was founded in January 1799, in Annapolis by 101 leaders of the medical profession in Maryland, including Dr.

Tobias Watkins Tobias Watkins (December 12, 1780 – November 14, 1855) was an American physician, editor, writer, educator, and political appointee in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. He played leading roles in early American literary institutions such a ...

and Dr. Ashton Alexander, its first secretary, treasurer, and last surviving charter member. The physicians who started the organization represented most of Maryland's counties. The

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

approved a petition for a charter for an incorporated society of physicians in Maryland to be known as "The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland". ("Chirurgical" was the common spelling of surgical at the time of the 18th Century.) The society became the seventh of its kind established in the country. In 1882, Whitfield Winsey was admitted to the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, becoming the first African American to do so. MedChi is composed of 24 component medical societies, plus international medical graduates, residents, and medical students sections. MedChi's governing body is known as the "House of Delegates" and elects the MedChi president each year. The president of the Society must be a Maryland physician.MedChirurgical Faculty bylaws as amended

Staff

Current MedChi staff includes: *Gene M. Ransom III - CEO *Shannon P. Pryor, M.D. - president *Debra C. Sciabarrasi - COO *Catherine Johannesen - Chief of Staff

Notable past presidents

Richard Sprigg Steuart Richard Sprigg Steuart (1797–1876) was a Maryland physician and an early pioneer of the treatment of mental illness. In 1838 he inherited four contiguous farms, totalling approximately 1900 acres as well as 150 slaves.MSA C153-10, Liber TTS #1, ...

: (president 1848-49, 1850–51), founder of the Maryland Hospital for the Insane, now known as Spring Grove Hospital Center, near

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

. *

William H. Welch William Henry Welch (April 8, 1850 – April 30, 1934) was an American physician, pathologist, bacteriologist, and medical-school administrator. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

in Baltimore. * Sir

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for spec ...

: (president 1896-97), first physician-in-chief at the

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...

, described as the "Father of Modern Medicine".

Notes

References

*''Md Med J.'' 1985 Sep;34(9):900-12. "Supporting Maryland physicians: the Med-Chi staff". Lehman E. *''The Medical Annals of Maryland. 1799-1899''. Prepared for the centennial of the medical and chirurgical faculty. by William Cordell, Eugene Fauntleroy (1843–1913).

External links

"MedChi" websiteNottingham, England medical and chirurgical society
{{Authority control American Medical Association 1799 establishments in Maryland Organizations established in 1799