Medical Society of South Carolina | South Carolina Public Radio

“M” is for the Medical Society of South Carolina. The fourth-oldest medical society in the United States, the Medical Society of South Carolina was founded in 1789 to “improve the Science of medicine, promoting liberality in the Profession, and Harmony among the Practitioners.” The Society founded the Medical College of South Carolina in 1823 with society members constituting six of the original seven faculty members. The Society quickly took a leading role in medical and public health issues. In 1790, it organized a dispensary for indigent patients that eventually merged with Roper Hospital. At the request of Charleston officials, the society formed a board of health and provided a port physician. The Medical Society of South Carolina provided leadership in the founding of the American Medical Association [1847] and the South Carolina Medical Association [1848].