Themselves writ large

"From its beginnings in 1832 in the West Midlands as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association up until its recognition in the twentieth century as the voice of the British medical profession, the history of the BMA has been one of organic development, reflecting the diversity of its members and the controversies that raged within the profession itself." "Peter Bartrip's compelling account is founded in the social and political issues of the times: at first, the need for an association to promote scientific knowledge to its members, and to establish the medical profession in pre-Victorian eyes as a respectable body, in contrast to the widely held view of doctors as charlatans and cheats. By the early twentieth century the Association had moved from this defensive stance to being a force for governments to reckon with, standing up for doctors' rights and entering the political arena with its opposition to the 1911 National Insurance Bill and again in the 1940s to the establishment of the NHS. Opinions and policies, reactionary and liberal by turn, have been influenced by the membership through the decades, from the rank and file to the forceful and diverse personalities at the top."--BOOK JACKET.