Dalhousie Medical School in 1981. Dr. Pineau spent one and half years in general practice at Cottage Hospital in rural Newfoundland. He completed two years surgical residency training at Dalhousie University and has been a family physician at Community Hospital since 1986.

The newest doctor to join the staff at O’Leary Community Hospital is Dr. Herb Dickieson. Dr. Dickieson was born and raised on a dairy farm in New Glasgow, P.E.I. He served in the Canadian Armed Forces in early 1970 as a Medical Assistant and obtained his B.Sc. from U.P.E.I. and Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He taught high school in Calgary for a while. After obtaining his med- ical degree from Dalhousie, he started his medical practice at Community Hospital in July, 1988. He was made Chief of Medical Staff in March, 1990. Dr. Dickieson married Kathleen Conlin in 1981 and has three children - Alexandra, Morgan and Daniel.

During the past ninety years, the role of the doctor has changed greatly. Doctors such as Dr. McLaughlin and Dr. McEwen, who prac- tised in the late nineteenth century were forced to function with lit- tle technological aid. Methods of diagnosing and treating illnesses appear crude compared to today’s era of specialization, but indica- ‘ tions are that nineteenth century doctors were adaptable and profi-

cient. Dr. R.G. Lea, in his book History of the Practise of Medicine of Prince Edward Island feels that the successes of modern medicine are largely due to the efforts of the early doctor of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Lea states, ”To have provided good medical care under conditions prevailing at that time must have called for a very high degree of adaptability and versatility. They were obviously general practitioners in the truest sense of the term. Their enduring contribution to the province is the solid foundation they established upon which the success of modern medicine is built.”

The doctors who practised in the twentieth century in O’Leary have been general practitioners am family doctors too. In spite of advances in technology, doctors in O'Leary have not evolved to a point of excessive specialization in any narrow field. This lack of spe- cialization is probably indicative of the lack of a large hospital in the immediate area and lack of a heavy concentration of population. At present, O’Leary doctors refer special cases to specialists in Summerside or Charlottetown. It has been only in the last few years that the tradition of making house calls has fallen into disuse in the O'Leary area. Now patients must do the travelling to see the doctor, but with the increased comfort in today’s transportation, no real inconvenience is placed on the public.

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