More than 100 Years of Leading Change

You'll notice that this issue of the Canadian Pharmacists Journal includes many historical features in recognition of the Centennial celebrations of our publisher, the Canadian Pharmacists Association. What you may not realize is the role that CPJ (then known as the Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal) played in the formation of the Canadian Pharmacists Association in 1907.

Mr. George Gibbard, Editor of the Journal from 1900 to 1923, wrote a series of “blistering” editorials calling for pricing reforms for pharmaceuticals and highlighting the need for national unity of pharmacists. He is credited with urging Canadian pharmacists to form a national organization to address some of the issues they were facing at the time. ¹ When delegates met for CPhA's inaugural meeting in Toronto on September 3, 1907, they were following through on an organizational proposal, published in CPJ, written by G.A. Burbidge, a prominent Nova Scotia pharmacist, lecturer, and dean of the Maritime College of Pharmacy. Dean Burbidge was a charter member and first vice-president of the Canadian Pharmaceutical Association (see the award in his name on page 169). ¹

The present-day CPJ continues to lead pharmacy practice change by bringing you the best of pharmacy practice research and the tools to facilitate the patient care your patients need (and that you want to provide). We appreciate the opportunity to provide our readers with a forum where they can express their concerns and frustrations with the quickly evolving (but never quickly enough!) world of Canadian pharmacy. Our letters and commentary pages are open to you (please note that we cannot publish anonymous correspondence).

We're also pleased to publish the results of a recent online survey of Canadian pharmacists' most pressing concerns (see page 160). While digesting these statistics, you may gain some appreciation for what was on the minds of our 1907 predecessors. While the topics may differ, the solution to many of these issues — pharmacists working together for the benefit of patients — hasn't really changed much in 100 years.

CPJ will continue to publish features with a historical theme over the next year as we celebrate our 140th anniversary in 2008. First published in 1868, the Canadian Pharmacists Journal is Canada's oldest continuously published periodical. We want to recognize Canadian pharmacists and pharmacies of historical significance during our celebrations. Please contact me at rkilleen@pharmacists.ca with your ideas and suggestions.