Relation to Professional Training

Transcription

1 Ages of Health Officers in Relation to Professional Training JOHN A. FERRELL, M.D., DR.P.H., F.A.P.H.A., AND PAULINE A. MEAD Rockefeller Foundation, New York, N. Y. A LTHOUGH the age of a health officer is important for several reasons, the present discussion will be confined primarily to its influence on his taking university training in public health. The young physician who has been graduated at a grade A medical school within the past 0 years, as a rule is well grounded academically and medically. He is able to meet university admission requirements and to carry successfully its courses in public health. In view of his remaining years of usefulness, his investment of time and money in public health training should yield a real return. So much cannot be said for older physicians. Those who were graduated a score of years ago, for example, as a rule are not well grounded in the basic sciences and cannot satisfactorily take most of the university courses in public health. Moreover, there would be less incentive for them to invest time and money in courses of training when their expectancy for vigorous health would be for a comparatively brief period. Experience has shown that physicians not over 5 years of age are most satisfactorv as students of public health, but exceptional men up to the age of 0 do reasonably well. While occasionally men above this age may carry courses successfully, in general they find the work difficult and at times embarrassing. The physician who has grown old while serving as a full-time health officer has had opportunity to acquire a great deal of useful knowledge and practical experience, and even though he may be lacking in certain technical subjects, he may plav a very useful role in administrative and routine health measures. Until schools of public TABLE I CLASSIFICATION BY AGE GROUPS OF STATE AND PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICERS, State Health Officers Provincial Health Officers. [90]

2 AGES AND TRAINING OF HEALTH OFFICERS 905 TABLE II FULL-TIME COUNTY HEALTH OFFICERS GROUPED ACCORDING TO AGE, 92 United States Total Aver- Number Percentage States Num- age ber Age Under Over Under Over Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Delaware 7 = Florida Georgia Idaho 29 l00.0 Iowa Kansas 0 58 = Kentucky Ketuk A Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana New Mexico 5 7 = New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota 00.0 Tennessee Texas Utah 2 62 =_=_ Virginia Washington West Virginia Total Canada Total Aver- Number Percentage Provinces Num- age ber Age Under Over Under Over Alberta British Columbia 2... Quebec Saskatchewan Total I:

3 906 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH health were established, training was obtainable only in the school of experience. As will be observed later, only a beginning has been made by health officers in taking professional training in public health. Table I presents the age distribution of 8 state health officers and 9 provincial health officers. The state health officers have an average age of 56 and the provincial health officers 52. One provincial health officer is 7 years old. With this exception, all of the state and provincial health officers are 0 or over. Of the 557 full-time county health officers in the United States in January, 92, the available records did not give the ages of 0. The age distribution of the remaining 527 is given in Table II. In each of 2 states having 2 and 8 health officers respectively, or a total of 0, the average age is 62. In 0 other states there are 8 health officers with an average age of 5 or less. From Table II it will be noted also that in the group under 5 there are 9 county health officers in 20 states, and that in the 5-0 group there are 5, representing 8 states. These two groups, which may be regarded as including the potential students for schools of public health, have a total of 7. Among the county health officers in the states, 0 have had school of public health training-usually year. As of January, 92, Tennessee reported 5 county health officers who have had school of public health training, and Maryland 5, whereas other states reported only or 2 with such training. - In Canada, there were 2 county health officers in January, 92. Their age distribution by provinces is shown in Table II. The ages of 29 were available and averaged 0 years. Of these, 8 have had school of public health training. The record of Quebec is conspicuous, in that the average age of 2 of her 25 county health officers is 9 years, and have had training in a school of public health. In the United States, of the 966 cities having 0,000 or more inhabitants only 07 have full-time health officers. Of 29 of these for which we have records, the average age is 52 years. Their age distribution will be found in Table III. Of the 58 full-time city health officers whose ages were not available, 50 are non-medical: 2 in Massachusetts, 5 in Pennsylvania, and 27 in New Jersey. SUMMARY. The age distribution of 862 full-time state, provincial. citv and county health officers is as shown in Table IV. 2. Of the 208 health officers under years of age, 8 have attended schools of public health-a percentage of 8.2.

4 AGES AND TRAINING OF HEALTH OFFICERS 907 TABLE III FULL-TIME CITY HEALTH OFFICERS GROUPED ACCORDING TO AGE, 92 Aver- Number Percentage States Total age Age Under Over Under Over Alabama Arizona 9 = _=_ 00.0 Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon 9... Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota 00.0 Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Total

5 908 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AGES OF 862 TABLE IV FULL-TIME HEALTH OFFICERS Kind of Health Officer Under Over 50 Total State Provincial County (U. S.) County (Can.) City (U. S.) Total In the age group under 5 there are 2 health officers, of whom only 25 have had university training in public health.. University courses should be supplemented by practical field training. As the age group -50 is at a decided disadvantage with respect to university courses, practical intensive courses should be offered for them. 5. Although the total number of health officers having diplomas in public health is still quite limited, the number taking the training and planning to take it is showing a yearly increase. NOTE: The Directory of the American Medical Association was the source of our information as to the ages of health officers, and the Public Health Reports were consulted to ascertain the city health officers who are physicians and those who are not. Eye Defects in the Savage TN the recent film called " Trader Horn " there were about 200 savage African ltribesmen, especially imported from Africa by Hollywood. A group of eye specialists in California examined the eyes of every one of these men, with this interesting result: that the respective percentages of near-sightedness, far-sightedness, myopia, and other common eye defects were almost the same as the averages for men and women of America. Undoubtedly the abuse of our eyes is the cause of much defect in vision, yet this study of the savages' eyes shows that the human eye has a natural tendency to imperfection.