February 1st, 2011 by John Mandrola, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
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I asked my age-matched colleague the other day: “Do you think we’ll know when it happens to us?” He responded: “I know. I worry about that, too…a lot. I’m getting out before it happens to me.”
We were talking about our fears of being labeled as an “old” doctor. Not just old in years — our children and bifocals remind of us of that — but old in our mindset. We fear becoming one of the dinosaur doctors who get known for their excessive attachment to old dogma, premature dismissiveness of novel new approaches, fear of social media, and of course the tell-tail (pathognomonic) sign of agedness, ranting mindlessly in front of Fox news about healthcare reform in the doctor’s lounge.
This transition can happen fast. One moment a doctor might be in their sweet spot — a period of time where the nearness of training meets with the treasure of experience in a capable mind, body and spirit. Sadly, and obviously this period is finite. It’s limited by aging. Getting older happens to all of us, but the pertinent fact for medical practice is that, like all humans, doctors age at different velocities. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr John M*
January 25th, 2011 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Did you know that one-third of the country’s physicians are over the age of 65? That’s right, there’s a good chance that your doctor is on Medicare. That’s a concern, because physicians aren’t immune to the ails of aging, and are just as prone as patients to succumb to the effects of Parkinson’s or various types of dementias.
Not comforting if you’re about to undergo an operation, for instance. And absolutely frightening when you consider baby boomers and newly-insured patients will flood our health system in the coming years.
An eye-opening piece from the New York Times highlights the trend. It’s up to doctors and medical societies to report doctors who aren’t able to proficiently perform, but few do. According to the data, the rate of disciplinary action for physicians out of school 40 years was 6.6 percent.
Various tactics to ensure competency have been slow to take off. Requiring all doctors to re-certify, for instance, isn’t working, since the vast majority of doctors practicing are “grandfathered” into not being required to take the test. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
August 22nd, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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With apologies to the Beatles:
“When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now,
Will you see need me, will you still feed me,
When I’m ninety four?”
From the New York Post:
Former NYPD chief cardiologist Dr. Irving Kroop retired in 1986 — when he was 70 — with a $64,364 disability pension awarded because of a bad heart, according to sources and city records.
All the while, he’s maintained a private practice in Brooklyn and moonlighted at NYCERS, the New York City Employees Retirement System, which paid him $14,479 last year to help determine whether other city workers should get disability pensions.
“Hats off to the man — he’s 94 years old but disabled? And still going strong?” said an incredulous Carol Kellerman, head of the Citizens Budget Commission.
Kroop, who gets $155 an hour as a private contractor for city’s civilian pension board, shuffles into examining rooms with a cane and oxygen tank, sources say.
This story presents an interesting dilemma in this era of shrinking retirement income for our seniors who want to continue to work. Should there be an age limit for practicing doctors? How do we assess if a doctor is “disabled” as they age? Should we care? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
