Mathematical Preparation for Training Statisticians in Biomedical Science and Public Health

Abstract

The 1960's will be recorded as the decade in which the competent statistician has become a full partner in the health team. New roles in information and communication, program planning and budgeting, operational analysis, as well as in more traditional types of biomedical research are waiting to be developed by bright, eager, talented individuals with highly varied training and skills. These opportunities exist in regional medical programs, comprehensive child care services, community health centers, environmental health programs, manpower commissions, and automated medical record installations. The Bourbon Street Conference (1) estimated that 10,000 statisticians and related professionals would be needed by 1970 for these jobs. Have we developed the capability and flexibility to recruit and to effectively train such numbers? Is training in mathematics a help or a hindrance in this goal? To answer these questions a classification of statistical tasks or statisticians in this field is needed. I have attempted to delineate five major groups of persons engaged in statistics and research in health and medicine. and to outline their training needs. To a large extent this material is based on an informal survey I conducted of prominent statisticians and other professionals this past summer.