Specialty you can practice the longest

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punkedoutriffs said:
Which specialties do you perceive have the longest potential for longevity of practice?
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Off the top of my head, family practice, Peds, IM, dermatology, pulmonology, allergy, pathology, rheumatology, geriatrics, maybe ENT (referring for surgical as you age)?
 
Anything but surgery (ortho, general, neurosurg, etc...) since your strength and ability to stand for long hours will decrease with age.
 
Can't we all practice family medicine when we're too old to do a specialty?
 
Anesthesia. You get to sit down all the time.

(But I jest...)



I think, if you are willing to move into administration/clinic ownership/or some other 'less active' position, there is no retirement age.
 
Spinach Dip said:
Anesthesia. You get to sit down all the time.

(But I jest...)



I think, if you are willing to move into administration/clinic ownership/or some other 'less active' position, there is no retirement age.
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Even for surgeons?
 
ar2388 said:
radiology guys 🙂
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I think eyesight would be the limiting factor there. But IDK, I guess some people retain good eyesight throughout advanced age....rare, though, especially after years of staring at bright computers in dark rooms.
 
I know a 78 year old pathologist. He is thinking about retiring in a few years. The thing is, he loves what he does so much he doesn't really want to stop.
 
Pathology sounds like it would be really good. But the job market...
 
I've known a general surgeon and a CT surgeon who practiced and still operated (doing big cases) until their mid and late 70s respectively. One of our ENT guys just retired at 78, but was not doing "big cases" in recent years. I also know an OB/Gyn who quit operating at 70 but did outpatient gyne only for the next 4 years until he retired.

Some hospitals require doctors over a certain age to have a mentor or backup arranged to make sure skills remain intact. Where I trained, surgeons over 70 needed to have a younger surgeon available in-house for back up. Can't be easy to be the back up for these hardcore guys who have been in practice for 40 years and were previously the mentor for the younger guys.
 
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We have an attending who went through med school in the late 1940's. That is when penicillin was first mass produced.

I'd imagine their licensure exams were a lot easier with only one drug for infectious disease.
 
tiedyeddog said:
I have a family member who practiced orthopedics until he was 78. Retirement age is a very subjective thing.
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Great point. Many of my classmates (early 80s MD grads), will remain in practice until they die, others retire in their 50s or 60s. However, it's not unusual for docs to venture into many nonclinical careers, some not even remotely related to medicine. Life's not, for some folks, a linear journey, and people leave medicine for a few years to do other things, and sometimes return, retrain, or approach it with a different perspective.
 
ruprecht said:
Great point. Many of my classmates (early 80s MD grads), will remain in practice until they die, others retire in their 50s or 60s. However, it's not unusual for docs to venture into many nonclinical careers, some not even remotely related to medicine. Life's not, for some folks, a linear journey, and people leave medicine for a few years to do other things, and sometimes return, retrain, or approach it with a different perspective.
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Speaking of which, a colleague of mine spent 16 years as a pathologist before reentering ERAS as an independent applicant in his 40s and matching to psychiatry. He now practices in a hospital-based psychiatry practice. Interesting jump, huh?
 
My uncle is 68 and is a practicing ophthalmologist. He's cut back his hours and as of last year and doesn't do LASIK anymore, but that's more for his own sanity on the road to retirement than physical capability. I think he's targeting retirement at 70.

I think it depends on your overall health for a surgeon and could be pretty individual.
 
i feel like pathology is so much more taxing on the eyes than radiology..
i spent a couple of hours on neuropathology during our neuro block and my eyes were sooo tired!
 
ar2388 said:
i feel like pathology is so much more taxing on the eyes than radiology..
i spent a couple of hours on neuropathology during our neuro block and my eyes were sooo tired!
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Was that because of non-stop dying (no pun intended) and microscopy?
 
Guero said:
Speaking of which, a colleague of mine spent 16 years as a pathologist before reentering ERAS as an independent applicant in his 40s and matching to psychiatry. He now practices in a hospital-based psychiatry practice. Interesting jump, huh?
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Interesting jump? Yeah. Reflects how folks--in medicine--have options throughout life if they choose. It's nice to be able to reinvent yourself in ways that are fulfilling commensurate with how we age, develop, and mature. Unfortunately some get caught up in a specialty and lifestyle that becomes physically unsustainable. These aren't things you put much thought into when you're in your late twenties or early thirties, but worth being mindful of in the beginning.
 
We have a few general surgeons in our program that have transitioned into wound care and more of a mentorship / first assist for your attendings as they have moved on into their 70's. It's all about finding the right niche

Survivor DO
 
ruprecht said:
Interesting jump? Yeah. Reflects how folks--in medicine--have options throughout life if they choose. It's nice to be able to reinvent yourself in ways that are fulfilling commensurate with how we age, develop, and mature. Unfortunately some get caught up in a specialty and lifestyle that becomes physically unsustainable. These aren't things you put much thought into when you're in your late twenties or early thirties, but worth being mindful of in the beginning.
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😕 Did you take offense to my comment? It was in no way derogatory, but rather an extension of his own sentiment and reflection of how one's interests can vacillate between two disparate specialties over time, essentially mirroring your statement.

Or did I just entirely misread your tone? Stupid intergoogles make it difficult to infer tone :/
 
Wouldnt EM be a specialty you could practice for a long long time?
 
DO Fo Sho said:
Wouldnt EM be a specialty you could practice for a long long time?
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Could've sworn I had included EM in my original post and was very surprised it wasn't there. Yup, I think EM would be a great contender, esp depending on your pt population. Some of the more rural ERs are notoriously slow and have great pt populations.
 
That was my thinking. Earlier in your career work at a bigger urban ER massive volume then later in life rural ER ligh volume. 🙂
 
Guero said:
😕 Did you take offense to my comment? It was in no way derogatory, but rather an extension of his own sentiment and reflection of how one's interests can vacillate between two disparate specialties over time, essentially mirroring your statement.

Or did I just entirely misread your tone? Stupid intergoogles make it difficult to infer tone :/
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No, not at all. You pointed out something imprtant that a lot of people don't factor in. That'd be the fact that as we age, what's an appealing career choice in your 20s, and 30s may not be so appealing later on.
 
ruprecht said:
No, not at all. You pointed out something imprtant that a lot of people don't factor in. That'd be the fact that as we age, what's an appealing career choice in your 20s, and 30s may not be so appealing later on.
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Haha, cool.

<-------- Also has difficulty inferring sarcasm IRL. Good thing I asked. LoL
 
DO Fo Sho said:
Wouldnt EM be a specialty you could practice for a long long time?
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In my experience, most emergency physicians don't plan on practicing late in life--at least not full-time. EM can be very physically taxing--moving constantly for 8-12 hours--and that gets older as you age.

What many emergency physicians do plan to cut way back in hours but still work a few shifts per month--something that is easier in EM than virtually any other specialty.
 
K31 said:
In my experience, most emergency physicians don't plan on practicing late in life--at least not full-time. EM can be very physically taxing--moving constantly for 8-12 hours--and that gets older as you age.

What many emergency physicians do plan to cut way back in hours but still work a few shifts per month--something that is easier in EM than virtually any other specialty.
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Agree with all this. I wouldn't consider EM a specialty to be practicing well into my 70s.
 
Oldest specialists I know....a urologist locums who must be ~75 (based on his graduation dates), an orthopedic surgeon who stopped operating around 72 but kept seeing clinic patients and hospital consults until he was 78. One of the infectious disease guys is probably 75+ and so is one of the endocrinologists. One of our plastic surgeons just retired at age 77 or so. There is just no way I think I'll be willing to be on call at age 75.
 
I've spotted a few crypt keepers in primary care, psychiatry, and neurology.

Most of the busy surgeons in my neck of the woods are on the young side. I know of multiple mid career surgeons having ergonomic issues an needing to scale back: a spine guy retired after developing OA and back pain, a busy total joints orthopod who stopped operating to join a PM&R practice, a mid-career ENT moving to mostly non-operative sleep (not sure exactly how this works, but he/she is doing it), and a laparascopic whiz who is slowing down significantly due to neck issues after many years of peering at the monitors from a particular angle.
 
Sucks to be a non-trad matriculant interested in surgical specialties while reading this thread...the struggles...
 
Guero said:
Sucks to be a non-trad matriculant interested in surgical specialties while reading this thread...the struggles...
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+1. Are there any preventive physical therapy measures or something to combat this kind of stuff?
 
Smurfette said:
I've known a general surgeon and a CT surgeon who practiced and still operated (doing big cases) until their mid and late 70s respectively. One of our ENT guys just retired at 78, but was not doing "big cases" in recent years. I also know an OB/Gyn who quit operating at 70 but did outpatient gyne only for the next 4 years until he retired.

Some hospitals require doctors over a certain age to have a mentor or backup arranged to make sure skills remain intact. Where I trained, surgeons over 70 needed to have a younger surgeon available in-house for back up. Can't be easy to be the back up for these hardcore guys who have been in practice for 40 years and were previously the mentor for the younger guys.
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I did a rotation with an OB just doing gyn. He's mid 80s.
 
KinasePro said:
I know of multiple mid career surgeons having ergonomic issues an needing to scale back: a spine guy retired after developing OA and back pain, a busy total joints orthopod who stopped operating to join a PM&R practice, a mid-career ENT moving to mostly non-operative sleep (not sure exactly how this works, but he/she is doing it), and a laparascopic whiz who is slowing down significantly due to neck issues after many years of peering at the monitors from a particular angle.
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punkedoutriffs said:
+1. Are there any preventive physical therapy measures or something to combat this kind of stuff?
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You should actually focus on doing things properly. You might still get some back/joint issues, but I know a few staff who focus on stretching and good posture, and I bet it helps. I suck it up a bit now, because the techs would probably get annoyed with too many quirks, but you can bet that some surgeons want the cushy mat to stand on, the monitor placed "just so," and so on. It's your body, take care of it. From what I've heard, most people put the laparoscopic monitors up too high and stand at awkward angles while holding the instruments. I know a urologist who does a lot of robotic prostatectomies, and he stands up and stretches several times during each case! He's a pretty fit guy.
 
K31 said:
In my experience, most emergency physicians don't plan on practicing late in life--at least not full-time. EM can be very physically taxing--moving constantly for 8-12 hours--and that gets older as you age.

What many emergency physicians do plan to cut way back in hours but still work a few shifts per month--something that is easier in EM than virtually any other specialty.
Click to expand...

i respectfully disagree. I see older physicians 70's working one of the busiest ER's in the country. He's an NIH funded researcher to boot. I guess it just dependent on the practitioner.
 
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