TY - JOUR T1 - Letters JF - The Nation's Health JO - Nations Health SP - 31 LP - 31 VL - 38 IS - 9 AU - Steven C. Gold AU - Sidney J. Socolar Y1 - 2008/11/01 UR - http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/38/9/31.1.abstract N2 - The story “Raising awareness of public health among Americans” in the September issue of The Nation’s Health was excellent.As a laborer in the public health trenches for 30-plus years, I have been continuously bemused at how most public goods — public safety, public transportation, public education, public radio, public utilities, public lighting, et al. — are included in the public debate, while public health is not.One small piece of the explanation is that there is no singular noun, paralleling “doctor” or “lawyer” or “teacher” or “engineer,” by which we are known. Where my sister says “I’m a teacher,” I have to say “I’m in public health. I’m deputy health officer for the local health department,” which usually means little … ER -