He joined the medical school of the hospital at its first formation, and at the time of his death was the sole survivor of the original members of the staff.
On the institution of the fellowship of the college, Shaw was elected one of the first batch of fellows on 11 December 1843.
In the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society he served as secretary, vice-president, and treasurer, and in its Transactions he published on rickets.
After the death of her husband in 1842 Lady Bell lived with her brother, and their house became a centre for the literary and scientific society of the period.
[1] Shaw's major works were:[1] In 1869 Shaw republished Sir Charles Bell's ‘New Idea of the Anatomy of the Brain’ (originally published in a limited edition in 1811) with additions, consisting mainly of selected earlier passages on the same subject written by Bell.
He also wrote the articles on ‘Injuries of the Back,’ ‘Diseases of the Spine,’ and ‘Distortion’ in Timothy Holmes's ‘System of Surgery.’[1] In 1856 Shaw married Susan Turner, the widow of J. Randall; the only issue of the marriage was a son who died in infancy.