A woman in a man's world.

Graduating from the University of Alberta in Chemistry (1963) and Medicine (1967), Jean was the founding Head of the Dalhousie Division of General Medicine, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Medical Education (1988-1996) and Associate Dean of Continuing Medical Education (1996-2002). She has served as President, Vice-President and Chair of numerous societies and as a member of several other national and international committees and boards. She is a Member of the Order of Canada and has two honorary doctorates.

Achieving the World Health Organization's vision for clinical pharmacology.

Clinical pharmacology is a medical specialty whose practitioners teach, undertake research, frame policy, give information and advice about the actions and proper uses of medicines in humans and implement that knowledge in clinical practice. It involves a combination of several activities: drug discovery and development, training safe prescribers, providing objective and evidence-based therapeutic information to ethics, regulatory and pricing bodies, supporting patient care in an increasingly subspecialized arena where co-morbidities, polypharmacy, altered pharmacokinetics and drug interactions are common and developing and contributing to medicines policies for Governments. Clinical pharmacologists must advocate drug quality and they must also advocate for sustainability of the Discipline. However for this they need appropriate clinical service and training support. This Commentary discusses strategies to ensure the Discipline is supported by teaching, training and policy organizations, to communicate the full benefits of clinical pharmacology services, put a monetary value on clinical pharmacology services and to grow the clinical pharmacology workforce to support a growing clinical, academic and regulatory need.

Promoting gender equity through health research: impacts and insights from a Canadian initiative.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently identified major knowledge gaps regarding gender and sex as determinants of health. Canada recognized the importance of mobilizing research, and informing programs and policies focused on promoting the health of males and females across their lifespans by creating a national research institute that is focused on the study of gender, sex and health. No other country has created a national research institute dedicated to gender and health. Other countries may benefit from the strategies used by this Canadian research institute to create and sustain success, including: (i) mechanisms for defining national research priorities; (ii) tools to optimize research excellence; (iii) vehicles to build research capacity and develop a research community; (iv) processes to convert new knowledge into practice, programs and policies; (v) creation of partnerships at both the national and international levels and (vi) solutions to challenges and obstacles. The development of a vibrant research community and powerful national and international collaborations promotes gender and health equity.

Voices.

The end of July is the last chance to nominate a candidate for this year's SADS UK annual awards, celebrating individuals who have taken action to save a life.

Voices - The battle for reform of us health care rages on, writes Jean Gray.

Dr Russell Dohner is seen as something of a hero by the people of Rushville, Illinois. Patients visiting the GP's practice are charged only $5 per consultation, the same price they would have paid in the 1970s.

Voices leadership is all very well, but leaders need people to lead, says jean gray.

As we await publication of the report on care failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which is due in the new year, it becomes increasingly clear that the most important issue facing the profession is safe staffi ng levels.