Join the society
Eligibility
Full Membership
Open to all medical practitioners who are either registered with the General Medical Council or who were once so registered but have since voluntarily withdrawn their names.
Fellows are those whose medical graduation was eight or more years ago – fees are currently £75.
Members are those whose medical graduation was less than eight years ago – fees are currently £55.
Those whose medical graduation was forty or more years ago may, on application, pay the Fellow Reduced rate of £50.
Associate Membership
Open to all those who never graduated medically and who work or who have worked as a nurse registered by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, or as a professional registered by the Health and Care Professions Council, or as a social worker registered by the Northern Ireland Social Care Council or the Scottish Social Services Council or the Care Council for Wales, or as a dentist registered by the General Dental Council, or as a senior manager within the National Health Service.
Associate Members fees are currently £35.
Joint membership
Joint subscription is available to two members who are married or in a Civil Partnership. Only one address is recorded for the Joint members and they receive only one copy of each Journal and Society posting.
The annual subscription is calculated by taking the average of the two individual subscriptions and adding the Joint Supplement currently £10.
Student Membership
Open to all medical students at medical schools within the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland undertaking a course of study which will lead them to being eligible for registration with the General Medical Council.
At present students do not pay a subscription and this is unlikely to change. They are not entitled to receive the printed Ulster Medical Journal but may access it online.
Payment
Subscriptions are due in advance annually on 1st November or next working day if that should fall on a weekend. We prefer to collect these by Direct Debit but will accept cheques.
We no longer accept payment by Standing Order.
Those not currently paying by Direct Debit may wish to change to do so and may download a Direct Debit form for completion. Please return it to the Membership Secretary, and not to your bank.
The Constitution states that those in arrears with their subscription for more than six months shall be advised of the fact and if the arrears are not paid within three months of such advice shall be regarded as having allowed their membership to lapse. They may be re-instated subsequently at the discretion of Council after payment of the arrears.
Gift Aid
The Society was recognised as a charity for tax purposes by the then Inland Revenue in 1990 and in 2016 was registered by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Our Charity Registration Number is NIC104845. Under the Gift Aid scheme it is possible for the Society to claim back from HMRC the amount of basic tax deemed to have been paid on suitable donations (currently giving us an extra 25%). Higher-rate tax payers may claim the difference between the basic tax rate and the higher tax rate through their tax returns.
Gift Aid on Subscriptions
So long as they are earning a professional income members of the Ulster Medical Society are permitted to claim tax relief on their annual subscription to the Society. It is because of this that the Society cannot claim Gift Aid on all subscriptions.
Once a member retires from professional work, however, their entitlement to claim tax relief on their subscription ceases and their entitlement to Gift Aid their subscription to the Society begins.
We would urge all members who have completely retired from professional practice to download and complete a Subscription Gift Aid Declaration It should be returned to the Membership Secretary.
Gift Aid on Donations
The Society would welcome offers of charitable donations to its funds. Please download a Donation Gift Aid Declaration which contains more information. Once completed it should be returned with your donation to the Honorary Secretary.
Personal information
We store member’s personal details solely for the purpose of running the Society. This information is not released to any external person or organisation.
Note: When a member leaves the Society their record is marked with the year of leaving and reason and moved from the Active List to the Inactive List. Those on the Inactive List receive no communications from the Society and no demand for a subscription.
Once the member has been on the Inactive list for a year (or before that if requested) their record will be archived. All sensitive information is removed, leaving, for historical purposes, only their title, full name, GMC and Society numbers, subscription type, the year of joining the Society, and the year and reason for leaving. We would prefer not to delete the archived record but will do so if requested.