Cags 25 Years Pages.Pmd

Canadian Association of General Surgeons The First 25 Years By Dr. Henry Thomas Gee Williams Canadian Association of General Surgeons Edited by Dr. G.W.N. Fitzgerald All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons 774 promenade Echo Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5N8 Tel.: 613-730-6280 • Fax: 613-730-1116 [email protected] • www.cags-accg.ca Layout by Mary Fitzgerald, Dartmouth, NS Printed by ............. Canadian Association of General Surgeons CONTENTS The Beginning ........................................................................ 1 The Logo............................................................................... 13 Education Committee ........................................................... 17 Undergraduate Education Committee .................................. 19 Postgraduate Education Committee ..................................... 22 Continuing Medical Education............................................. 40 Manpower Practice and Economics Committee .................. 46 Program Committee ............................................................. 68 Research Committee ............................................................ 82 Recognition of Special Skills ............................................... 90 Trauma Committee ............................................................... 97 Head and Neck Surgery Committee ................................... 101 Colorectal Surgery Committee ........................................... 108 Endoscopy and Laparoscopic Surgery Committee ............. 112 Medical Legal Committee .................................................. 121 Critical Care Committee .................................................... 126 Transplantation Committee ................................................ 130 The CAGS Committee on Surgery in the Developing World..................................................... 133 Committee for Surgical Oncology ...................................... 136 CAGS and the Canadian Journal of Surgery ..................... 140 Secretariat ........................................................................... 147 The Canadian Surgical REsearch Fund .............................. 152 The Corporate Council ....................................................... 160 Presidents of CAGS ............................................................ 162 Closing Remarks ................................................................ 175 Canadian Association of General Surgeons FORWARD Canadian Association of General Surgeons Canadian Association of General Surgeons THE BEGINNING ontinual change, at varying rates, is a characteristic of the provision of surgical services. In the 1920s and 1930s and C much more rapidly in the 30 years after the end of World War II, important changes were taking place. This was the emergence of recognized, defined surgical specialties, with their own professional associations, which developed for a number of reasons. Some were based on regions of the body, others on organs systems and they were often aided by advances in knowledge, instruments and anesthesia. There were also the added attractions of operating in a normally sterile field, working with tissues that had an excellent blood supply and in a discipline with few emergencies. General Surgery became what was left of the broad surgical spectrum. Indeed, as John Hinchey, Montreal, remarked, “residual surgery” might be a more appropriate term. In the 1960s and early ‘70s the Annual Scientific meeting of the Canadian Royal College, held in January, was a treasured forum in which all medical disciplines took part. But as the surgical specialties and their associations matured, most of them elected to hold their Annual Scientific meetings apart from the Royal College. General surgeons, mistakenly, were content to sit back and let the Royal College look after their interests. In the end they realized that, for their own good, they should have their own association. The considered voice of an association undoubtedly carried more weight in the Council and Committees of the Royal College than that of individuals. Doing something about it however, is always easier said than done. 1 Canadian Association of General Surgeons In 1976, John Hinchey, Montreal, and Marcel Rheault, Montreal, together with their wives, invited Don Wilson, Toronto, to dinner in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This was at the time of a meeting of the Canadian Association of Clinical Surgeons, Eastern Division. The two hosts emphasized to Don Wilson the urgent need for general surgeons to organize and form their own association. The three of them had discussed the matter on a number of occasions in previous years and they all agreed that the time for action had now arrived. For a number of reasons, getting things started from Toronto seemed easier than from Montreal. The Quebec Association of General Surgeons was already established, popular, well organized and well financed. Don Wilson’s parting comment was “Gentlemen you shall have a Canadian Association of General Surgeons sometime next year”. Don Wilson was the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He was a well known cardiovascular surgeon although he had initially completed a full training in General Surgery. He called a meeting of three leading Toronto general surgeons — Neil Watters, the Chief of Surgery at the Wellesley Hospital, Irv Koven, from the Mt. Sinai Hospital and Bernie Langer, who was Head of General Surgery at the Toronto General Hospital and suggested that they work together to establish a Canadian Association of General Surgeons in the following Spring. He generously offered the secretarial facilities of the Department of Surgery in Toronto to help with the organization and also said that the Department of Surgery would cover of the costs of organizing an inaugural meeting and give any profit to the new Association. Neil Watters was also the Chair of the Royal College Committee for General Surgery, on which all the 16 General Surgery Program Directors sat andwas therefore very much aware of the views and aspirations of general surgeons from coast to coast. He and his two colleagues were strong advocates of a new organization and, after careful preparation, all general surgeons in Canada were invited to the inaugural meeting on the 11th of May 1977 at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto. The business meeting was followed by an interesting Scientific meeting arranged by Bernie Langer with Professor John Canadian Association of General Surgeons 2 Goligher, Leeds, England, a well known colorectal expert as the guest speaker. The first business meeting was chaired by Neil Watters. He thanked Don Wilson for his invaluable help and stimulation over the previous 12 months, Irv Koven for the first-class local arrangements and Bernie Langer for the Scientific program. He pointed out that the only body representing approximately 2000 general surgeons in Canada was the Royal College, an appointed body. Both the Royal College and the Professional Corporation in Quebec appreciated the importance of continuing education and consultation with National Specialties Societies and both had given their support to the establishment of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons. There were three items on the agenda. 1. The Founding Resolution “Resolved that an application be made to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs for incorporation under the name of Canadian Association of General Surgeons by the Executive to be elected at this meeting and be it further resolved that said Executive Committee is hereby authorized to execute all documents required in order to complete the application for incorporation”. The motion was moved and carried unanimously by the nucleus and corresponding members of the Royal College Committee for General Surgery thereby became the founding members of the Association. (appendix 1) 2. The Resolution for the Adoption of the General Bylaws The proposed bylaws had been drafted by a subcommittee working from similar documents supplied by the Canadian Orthopedic Association and the Canadian Urological Association. A French translation had been prepared by Jacques Turcotte, Quebec, two weeks before the untimely death of this eminent Canadian surgeon. With a few minor alterations the bylaws were agreed to. 3. The Election of the New Executive The Royal College Committee for General Surgery had accepted the responsibility to act as a Nominating Committee. 3 Canadian Association of General Surgeons President Dr. Bernard Perey, Sherbrooke President Elect Dr. E. Bruce Tovee, Toronto Secretary Dr. H. Thomas Williams, Edmonton Treasurer Dr. Richard Railton, Welland Archivist Dr. Robert A. Macbeth, St. John Program and Education Committee Chair Dr. Lloyd MacLean, Montreal Bylaws Committee Chair Dr. John Gutelius, Kingston Nominating Committee Chair Dr. E. Bruce Tovee with elected members John Duff, London, Jean Couture, Quebec, Hugh Ford, Victoria. Regional Representatives Dr. Allan Downs, Winnipeg and Dr. Gordon Bethune, Halifax All these were duly elected. The choice of Bernard Perey as the first President was a good one. Born in France, fluently bilingual, he received his surgical training at McGill and was the first Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery in the new Medical School in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He had been on the Council of the Royal College for many years and was

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