The Joy of Doing
My Life and Times and the Story of the Centre for Agricultural Medicine
by James Arnold Dosman

---

“Father of agricultural medicine” James A. Dosman developed the discipline from the ground up. Little could young Dosman, growing up on a family farm in rural Saskatchewan, imagine that he would one day receive the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (2005), Order of Canada (2011) and be inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2019). Yet he would make stunning breakthroughs in recognizing the unique medical risks posed to agricultural workers, ultimately leading him to establish what is now known as the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health. Thorough and sprawling, told through sixty-four vignettes, The Joy of Doing chronicles Dosman’s personal and professional lives, from his upbringing on a farm at Annaheim, Saskatchewan, to meeting his wife, Sue, establishing a medical career, and raising their five children together. From his early research into grain dust inhalation, prompting the establishment of the Canadian Grain Dust Medical Surveillance Program, to his establishment of the Centre for Agricultural Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, Dosman’s career has been nothing less than pioneering. Along the way, he purchases and farms his own land, serves on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, was instrumental in creating the United Nations’ International Labour Organization’s code of practice on safety and health in agriculture (2011), and delves into the practice of sleep medicine, among much else. He is author or co-author of 6 books and 316 scientific papers. The Joy of Doing is testament to both an illustrious career and a rich personal life. It is a story of the joy of accomplishment—of struggling to build something from nothing, often against the odds, in both love and in life.

---

About Jim and Sue:  This photo was taken on February 14, 2024. Susan McKay (Fairclough) Dosman died on February 23, 2025. James Arnold Dosman continues (2026) to work 0.6 FTE at the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health, conduct medical research, exercise his practice of sleep medicine, do the crossword puzzle in The Globe and Mail, and chop wood at the family cottage at Emma Lake. Interested in getting in touch? You can reach Dr. Dosman at james.dosman@usask.ca.

---

Contributors

Author

James Arnold Dosman

FriesenPress Editions