Abstract
Since 1847 anaesthesia in Canada has evolved through six phases. In the first (1847–1898), it was a craft without an academic and professional base. The second (1899–1919) was marked by the first academic appointments and by Canadians’ wartime experiences of anaesthesia. The third phase (1920–1929) evidenced the professional satisfaction of anaesthesia and included the founding of the Canadian Society of Anaesthetists. In the fourth phase (1930–1943) the growth of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the introduction of certification and the founding of the definitive professional society — the Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society — fostered the evolution of what was now becoming a recognizable specialty. The fifth phase (1944–1971) was one of resolution of problems affecting the status of anaesthesia: the first autonomous department of anaesthesia in a Canadian university was founded (at McGill in 1945), the Royal College Fellowship was approved for anaesthesia (in 1951), the Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society Journal was launched (in 1954) and a single standard for certification of specialists was finally established (in 1971). In the sixth (1972–1989), the main elements were the assumption of responsibility for residency training by the universities and by the renaming of the journal as the Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia. Through these years of increasing professionalism, it has, however, been the accomplishments of individual Canadian physicians, facing many challenges, that have made the specialty in Canada recognizably Canadian.
Résumé
Six étapes ont marqué l’évolution de l’anesthésie canadienne depuis 1847. Tout d’abord et jusqu’ en 1898, il s’agissait d’un travail d’artisan sans fondement academique ou professionnel. Entre 1899 et 1919, l’anesthésie d’ici entra à l’Université et vécu son baptême du feu avec la première guerre mondiale. De 1920 à 1929, l’anesthésie s ’ ajfirme en tant que profession et voit le premier regroupement des anesthésistes canadiens. Puis, la période 1930–1943 donne naissance au Collège Royal des Médecins et Chirurgiens du Canada, au premier certificat de spécialiste en anesthésie et la Société Canadienne des Anesthésistes actuelle, qui favorisa la reconnaissance de l’anesthésie en tant que spécialité à part entière. Pendant la période suivante (1944–1971), l’Université McGill fut la première, en 1945, à avoir un département d’anesthésie autonome. Le certificat de Compagnon du College Royal en Anesthésie créé en 1951 devint le standard unique de spécialité en 1971. Par ailleurs, le Journal de la Société Canadienne des anesthésistes vit le jour en 1954. Enfin, les années 1972 à 1987 furent surtout marquées par la prise en charge totale des programmes de formation de spécialiste par les universités et la transformation du journal de la société en Journal Canadien d’Anesthésie. Pendant toutes ces années où l’anesthésie devenait une profession, les anesthésistes canadiens, par leurs réalisations individuelles et collectives, ont donné à cette spécialité médicale une couleur nettement canadienne.
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This is the first article in a series “History of Canadian Anaesthesia.” Manuscripts are requested which describe the early history of Anaesthesia in Canada — people, institutions, equipment.
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Shephard, D.A.E. The evolution of anaesthesia as a specialty in Canada. Can J Anesth 37, 134–142 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03007495
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03007495