By Rob Hill, BMBCh. Vancouver: Tantalus Research Limited, 2005. ISBN (13)978-0-919478-80-0. Paperback, 256 pages. $25.
Many of us in British Columbia have been influenced by the legacy of Jack McCreary. Jack came as a pediatrician to develop the Department of Pediatrics at UBC, went on to be dean of the medical school, and worked nationally to develop concepts of health centres and interdisciplinary care.
Rob Hill, a subsequent head of the Department of Pediatrics, has written a very readable biography on a great physician who had many ideas that were before their time. Starting with the events that shaped the man, he has carefully documented McCreary’s arrival in Vancouver, the development of the Department of Pediatrics, the opening of the Health Centre for Children at the Vancouver General Hospital, his time as dean at the University of British Columbia, the development of continuing medical education and rehabilitation medicine, his push for organization of health services and interdisciplinary care in Canada, his concept of university teaching hospitals, and his concern for physician supply.
Those of you who lived through the era will enjoy learning more about the man and his ideas. Those of you who did not will enjoy a fascinating read about a time gone by, about a man with ideas that are now coming to fruition.
Available through Georgia Petropoulos, Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Room 2D19-4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3V4. All proceeds go to the Department of Pediatrics.
—Judith G. Hall, OC, MD
Vancouver