The role of the Faculty of Public Health (Medicine) in developing a multidisciplinary public health profession in the UK

Abstract 

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) started out its life as the Faculty of Community Medicine. Its initial membership was drawn from the ranks of Medical Officers of Health (MOsH), medical administrators and consultants working in communicable disease. Born under the aegis of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians, it was de facto for members of the medical profession. This was despite the intention of some of the prime movers in its creation that its membership should reflect the multidisciplinary nature of specialist public health.

As such, whilst the Faculty's establishment was indeed a triumph, the triumph was only partial, since many senior public health professionals were precluded from full membership. Over the years this situation has changed, but the road to the Faculty's current open policy, based on achieving public health excellence rather than holding a professional badge, has not been a smooth one. The fears of many medical members that the specialty would be down graded through opening up its membership posed successive presidents with many, often justifiable, challenges. In this article we, former presidents, reflect on the key events during our successive tenures.

Keywords: Faculty of public health, Specialist public health, Multidisciplinary profession