Do younger or older doctors get better results?
A recent essay published in The Wall Street Journal looked at patient outcomes in hospitals based on the age of the doctor, and found that younger doctors had better results in certain circ*mstances.
The age of your doctor may matter.
Interestingly, research shows higher death rates for patients with older doctors.
Surgery might have a decadeslong learning curve, according to a UCLA-led study. Researchers found that patients treated by older surgeons had lower death rates within 30 days of their procedures than those treated by younger surgeons.
Younger physicians are also more likely to put their patients first, whereas older doctors have been known to care lesser for patients nearing the end of their time. Research also shows the importance of younger doctors with the ability to discuss difficult issues with critically ill patients.
Studies of older physicians with competency concerns have found prevalent errors of noncomprehensive history taking, incomplete data gathering and interpretation, and deficient hypothesis generation. Yet other studies demonstrate that many older physicians can perform at or near the level of their younger peers.
Many physicians wait to retire until their late 60s or 70s, but if you're considering an early transition to retirement, you're not alone. Nearly 30% of physicians retire between 60 and 65 years old, and 12% retire before 60, according to survey research conducted by AMA Insurance Agency Inc., a subsidiary of the AMA.
- Family Medicine.
- Otolaryngology.
- Dermatology.
- Anesthesiology.
- Ophthalmology.
- Pediatrics.
- Psychiatry.
- Clinical Immunology/Allergy.
It is generally agreed that the deterioration of purely physical skills begins near the end of the third decade of life (around age 28). Cognitive skills diminish later. Yet it is widely agreed that most surgeons reach their peak of overall performance around the second half of the fifth decade (45–50 years of age).
Surgeons in mid-career, between the ages of 35 and 50, are the safest for patients, according to a new study. Newly qualified surgeons might be expected to make a few mistakes. It is generally known that surgeons reach their peak performance after some 10 years of experience in their chosen field.
Neurosurgery. Neurosurgery is appealing to those applicants who are fascinated with the human brain and nervous system and enjoy surgery. This makes it one of the most difficult residency specialties to match into. Neurosurgeons tackle diverse cases, each presenting unique challenges.
How old are the youngest doctors?
Dr. Balamurali Ambati is a well-known ophthalmologist who made history by becoming the youngest doctor in the world at the age of 17.
There are potentially millions of other people aged 40 and older who have successfully completed medical school and found rewarding careers as physicians, nurses and other health care professionals. It's never too late to start down a new career path, especially when so many others have done so before you.
One large study of Medicare patients found surgeons over age 60 had higher mortality rates for several kinds of operations, including coronary bypasses, but not for other procedures. And the differences were small, occurring mostly among doctors who performed few operations.
The most common route to becoming a physician involves completing a bachelor's degree, followed by medical school, and then 3 years or more in a residency program for a medical specialty. At the very least, the entire process can take 11 years, putting the average age for a beginning doctor at 29 or 30.
What is the average age of a physician? We analyzed more than 810,000 healthcare providers tracked in the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product with a reported birth year. The average age of these providers is 53.9 years old as of 2023.
There are many reasons to switch doctors, but the choice is ultimately yours—and you don't need to feel bad about it. It's part of patient autonomy, where you get to decide what's best for your health.
By the time physicians reach their forties, it is very possible to achieve millionaire status, with some physicians even becoming multimillionaires. This trend continues with doctors in their fifties, with 60% of physicians' worth at least $1 million.
Dr Atomic Leow Chuan Tse was the oldest known medical student, graduating at 66 years old from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, Romania, in 2015.
Doctors live longer than the general population, but there is variation among medical specialties. Perhaps it is not surprising to learn that, on average, doctors live longer than the general population.
In 2019, the top 5 happiest specialties were rheumatology first, followed by otolaryngology, endocrinology, pediatrics, and general surgery and the bottom five were neurology, infectious disease, cardiology, pathology, and oncology.
What type of doctor lives longest?
The specialties with the oldest average age at death were general practitioners (80.3, SD = 12.5, n = 2508), surgeons (79.9, SD = 13.6, n = 853) and pathologists (79.8, SD = 13.8, n = 394).
- Family Medicine.
- Internal Medicine.
- Preliminary Surgery.
- Orthopedic Surgery.
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.
- Child Neurology.
There is no age limit for medical school. You can become a doctor in your 30s, 40s, 50s, and even 60s.
Akrit also became the world's youngest surgeon at the age of 7. Akrit has had a reputation for being a medical genius. He successfully operated on an eight-year-old girl-a burn patient.
What type of surgeon takes the longest to become? Based on the length of the medical residency program, neurosurgery takes the longest to complete—seven years.
