The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists: highlights of its first 50 years

Abstract

This article has been written to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC). It is not an exhaustive history of CSCC's activities but rather a review of many of the highlights that the Society and its members have experienced since its founding in October 1956. The names of many members who made important contributions to CSCC's development (but by no means all) are mentioned in the text. The historical material is presented by the decade but with blurred boundaries, as noteworthy advances in CSCC's history have most often developed gradually over several years and the terms of office of several CSCC Councils. From a founding roster of slightly over 70 members, the membership has grown to several hundred. The two main objectives for the Society's founding were stated by one of the three Montrealers who extended the original invitation, Dr. William S. Bauld: “ to raise the standards of performance, and to raise the professional standing of clinical chemists”. The early reports of committees on Instrumentation, Methods and Quality Control had rapid impact on individual members' laboratory practices across the country. The struggle for recognition of clinical chemists by other health professions inside and outside the clinical laboratories has taken much longer and has consisted of a long series of incremental successes through certification by examination, training programs, continuing education and, ultimately, the formation in 1986 of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. The CSCC's means of intra- and inter-communication with external organizations consist of its newsletter CSCC News, its scientific journal Clinical Biochemistry (established in 1967), and its more recently created website www.cscc.ca (1997). These three mechanisms ensure exchange of information between the officers of CSCC Council and the general membership and among members as well. National and international conferences have offered the newest scientific discoveries pertinent to the profession, exhibits featuring the latest in increasingly sophisticated instrumentation and reagents, and abundant opportunity to exchange information informally with old and newly met colleagues. By their contributions to the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, CSCC members continue to play important roles far beyond Canada's borders.