Appreciation
Heroes of Medical Regulation: Yesterday and Today
Our 150 th Anniversary presents an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of those physicians active in regulation over the years.
In 2016, medical regulation in Ontario celebrated its 150th anniversary. Although there have been many changes, some transformative, throughout our long history, the active participation of physicians in regulation has been a constant, ensuring that our professionally-led model of governance remains vital and healthy. Over the next several pages, you will see the names of more than 1300 physicians who worked to ensure that our mandate of protecting the public interest was fulfilled throughout the past year. We thank them for their work in developing policy, serving on committees, providing expert opinion to assist in the adjudication of investigations or for providing mentoring to peers through our assessment program. But in the spirit of celebrating our history, we also wanted to single out some of the physicians from our past who were instrumental in our evolution.
• Dr. John Robertson Dickson was elected President at the first meeting of the General Council of Medical Education and Registration( renamed the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1869). Dr. Dickson was partly responsible for the founding of the medical department at Queen’ s University. After leaving Council, he became the medical superintendant of the Rockwood Asylum in Kingston and devoted the remainder of his career to the study of mental illness.
• Dr. Henry Strange was elected as the Registrar at the first meeting of Council in 1866. During his time as Registrar from 1866- 1872, the College did not have an official office location. He conducted College affairs out of his Hamilton medical practice or his home.
• Dr. James Grant was the first President of the newly-named CPSO in 1869. He is the longest serving member of Council: He participated in medical regulation for 40 years over a 50-year period. Recognized for his contributions to medicine,
Top: Dr. Henry Strange Bottom: Dr. James Grant
Images courtesy of the CPSO’ s Archives
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Dialogue Issue 4, 2016