Researchers suggest regular and elaborate assessments to help doctors determine when it’s time for aging surgeons to put down the scalpel.
WACO, Texas — As the population of surgeons in the United States grows older, with over 40% projected to be 65 or older within the next decade, the medical community faces a critical challenge: how to ensure these skilled professionals maintain the sharp minds and steady hands needed to safely care for patients. A new paper published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons offers a roadmap for navigating this complex issue, aiming to support surgeons throughout their careers while always keeping patient well-being front and center.
At the heart of the recommendations is a simple yet powerful idea – that assessing a surgeon’s abilities should be a career-long endeavor, not something reserved for their golden years. Just as commercial pilots undergo regular evaluations to confirm they still have the chops to fly, the authors argue, surgeons of all ages should receive periodic checkups on their cognitive and technical skills. This way, any hint of decline can be detected early, allowing ample time for additional support or, if needed, a gradual transition to less demanding roles.
Tests For Aging Surgeons
So what might these competency assessments look like? Currently, there are guidelines in place for mandatory cognitive evaluations beginning at age 65, and career transition planning at mid-career. Other countries like India and China have mandatory retirement ages in places. But no such policy exists in the U.S.
The authors suggest a wide range of tools, from computerized tests that gauge attributes like memory and reaction time to hands-on evaluations of a surgeon’s prowess in the operating room. The key is to use objective, validated measures whenever possible and to customize evaluations to each surgeon’s unique strengths and needs. By making assessments a routine part of a surgeon’s professional life, the goal is to normalize the process and avoid any perception of stigma or punishment.
Of course, identifying potential issues is only half the battle. That’s why the paper emphasizes the importance of pairing competency testing with proactive planning for how a surgeon’s career might evolve over time. Long before any sign of difficulty emerges, surgeons should be encouraged to contemplate their future and cultivate interests outside the OR. That could mean exploring administrative, teaching, or research roles within their institution or developing hobbies and relationships that will make an eventual move away from full-time surgery feel less jarring.
If and when assessments do suggest a surgeon’s skills are starting to slip, the response should be constructive and multifaceted. Additional training might shore up areas of weakness, while a modified schedule or narrowed scope of practice could play to a surgeon’s strengths. In some cases, shifting to a role like surgical assistant or consultant could allow a surgeon to contribute meaningfully without being the lead on high-stakes procedures. The authors stress that any such changes should be made collaboratively, with input from the surgeon, their colleagues, and their institution’s leadership.
How should hospitals and medical boards get involved?
Underpinning all of these recommendations is a fundamental belief that supporting surgeons throughout their careers is a shared responsibility. Hospitals and healthcare systems need to invest time and resources into competency testing and transition planning. Professional organizations like the American College of Surgeons (ACS) can provide education and advocate for policies that promote sustainable, fulfilling surgical careers.
And surgeons themselves must embrace a mindset of lifelong learning and adaptability.
“A significant number of physicians surveyed at the ACS annual meetings were not aware of their own cognitive decline, nor were many peers comfortable, understandably, calling them out and saying, ‘I’m concerned about my colleague,’” said lead author of the study Dr. Todd K. Rosengart, professor and DeBakey-Bard Chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, in a media release. “The ability to create a framework where we normalize taking care of ourselves and each other in a nonpejorative way is very important.
“Another important part of this study is that it addresses the question of who is going to lead this effort. Is it going to be the American College of Surgeons, the American Board of Surgery or other state or national entities?” Rosengart added. “If we abdicate this responsibility, is it going to be the federal government mandating what we do? Surgeons should take the leadership role in developing competency assessments and associated policy.”
A more thoughtful future for doctors and patients
The authors acknowledge that implementing their vision will take work. Busy surgeons may resist adding another obligation to their plates, while cash-strapped hospitals may balk at the upfront costs. But the potential benefits are enormous. By catching and addressing any competency issues early, before patients are harmed, these measures could prevent untold suffering. And by giving surgeons the tools and support to navigate career transitions gracefully, they could help preserve a wealth of accumulated wisdom and experience.
Ultimately, the paper argues, ensuring surgeons’ competency is about far more than evaluating individual practitioners. It’s about creating a culture of medicine that values lifelong growth, humility, and teamwork. In an era when burnout is rampant and public trust in institutions is fracturing, demonstrating a commitment to self-improvement and patient safety could be powerful indeed.
The challenges posed by an aging surgical workforce are not going away. As the number of older surgeons climbs in the coming years, a proactive, comprehensive approach will only become more crucial. By offering a blueprint for action, this new paper could help the surgical community get ahead of the curve and safeguard quality care for generations to come. The health of surgeons and their patients alike may depend on it.
“Too often surgeons think, ‘The day I leave the operating room is the day my life as I know it has ended,’” Rosengart said. “That can be frightening. We want to change that next chapter into something that physicians and surgeons will welcome as a new opportunity.”
All the surgeons the vitals’ got taken whilst operating on patients, have indicated that: surgeons are slightly dehydrated (problem solved by using a nurse with a glass of water with a straw in it), and most horrific, but to be expected of course, all of them have showed a very low oxygen level. Low oxygen levels with the consequent carbon dioxide slow poisoning, do equal to a surgeon very prone to make mistakes. Full face respirator with on each side a filter on the outside. Filters are not sold by the pair but by the piece, do have an expiry date and are to be disposed of after use. Despite being aware of this ‘little’ horror show lack, nobody is doing anything to mandate the wearing of such equipment. Starting from those of prodigal professionals themselves.
As ‘discovered’ back in 2016, but for some odd reasons forgotten by both ‘professionals’, hospitals managers and patients, that busy public hospitals are infested with ‘super killer bugs’. One more ‘little’ killer show also without any authorities, any ‘professionals’ and of course without any of these hospitals managements, being mandated or mandating to use copper as permanent and only solution. A one by one bit of copper, covers a five by five area. Also, Australian scientists did create few years ago a copper (alloy?) that kills all micro organisms in a matter of few minutes. That would be very useful for any person to wear a little bit of it somewhere around the nostrils especially when going out there in some chemtrail environment or hospitals infested with these super killer bugs. After all it is your nose, not your mouth, that needs to be protected. But despite copper being the only element able to kill these super killer bugs, no hospital and no ‘professional’ is mandated or has been mandated to use this copper. And who has, has agreed to use it only for a two years trial. No sweat on that one.
To top it up, today the people with the best information for the jabbed, are still the citizens. GPs still do not care about inform themselves on food supplements’ formulas their jabbed patients are supposed to take for the rest of their self-inflicted shortened lives to boost their immune systems up a notch, to help the immune system to do some ‘nasties’ that do trigger cancers cells in the part of the body the most damaged, containment… they still prefer to prescribe anti biotics so much so, it was mentioned in an Australian government’s website, that now there is a scarcity of most common antibiotics. Also cause believe it or not, despite all the wanna be gods, gods wannabes laboratories (those that love playing around with micro organisms such as viruses of course, and human genomes to cut long story short), despite being a very rich in natural resources continent, Australia still does not have a factory that makes antibiotics, let alone something as simple as insulin.
As cherry on top of the cake, we have dentists and artificial limbs surgeons that despite being well aware of the slow poisoning, their nasty health side effects and what elements can be used to substitute mercury/silver amalgama (tooth fillings = alzheimer) and to substitute chromium and cobalt (false teeth, artificial hip, knee, etc), they keep using them.
The most stupid moment, is to see five surgeons in a room with a robot hand controlled by AI, expecting this nasty dangerous tech to remove the appendix using a different method than the usual one. Please do explain how AI can come out with a new method, when is there only to analyze data created by humans, fed by humans…
The job of a surgeon exists only cause there are ambo drivers, medics, paramedics and nurses. The grease monkeys of the human body in many cases does not come across as the professional it should be, but as an overpaid, underperforming, uncaring butchers.
The most disgusting was to read throughout these last three years, how surgeons have refused to carry out their jobs only cause the patient was not jabbed. Always believed doctors have the moral and legal obligation to give medical assistance to whom is in need for, and not to commit a crime of ‘hit and run’. Also is there to wonder why doctors are not on call… and why there is not a school for nurses where all aspects of nursing are taught, so that the staff can be used anywhere everywhere around hospitals and ERs. Cause there is something called … shiftwork. Today you clean poops pots, tomorrow you lift the surgeon’s muzzle for water whilst is performing surgery. Doable solutions, such as copper, correct PPE, four years of nurse’ schooling, non lethal usage of elements … but none of them to be even considered.
Primum no nocere is the core of what it is all about being an employee of the health care system. But as many so have noticed, most people that die in hospitals are not killed by their health conditions, but by the side effects of their medications. White pill to sooth the side effects of an other white pill and so forth and so forth. Stomach lining sooner or later will corrode and burst open. Whitin 36 the patient is dead. Super killer bugs, do kill off the jabbed that had a flue to start with, but without immune system working properly, voila’, now people die for a flue, like they were all infected with HIV.
The health care system staff throughout the last three years has really excelled in showing the whole world how dangerous hospitals are today. And how ‘medical schools’ are there to teach doctors’ wanna be how to kill people, how to treat people like objects and to treat them like ‘useless eaters’ they are not.
Not all are like that, but one is one too many. Most staff of the health care system that has had anything to do with these jabs, is an inhuman that needs to have its medical license revoked and put in prison for the worst crime of malpractice such employee could ever commit in all its professional life.
You do the rest of the math …
Both my father and his younger brother were surgeons. My father was a neuro surgeon, my uncle an Orthopedics. Both maintained active surgical academic and research careers. They both rose to be chairs of their respective surgical divisions but each retired from the performance of lengthy and complex procedures at 68 years old continued their careers as valued consultants and educators of residents and fellows. They both were also elected to the senior leadership and presidency of their respective surgical socities inthe late 1980s and early 1990s. During their tenure in these capacities they attempted to establish clear quidelines and recommendations with respect to insuring continued evaluation of surgical practicioners’ levels of skills, competencies and patient outcomes in order to identify problematic practicioners and institution of appropriate corrective measures.
They were amazed and disaapointed at the level of pushback and personal vilification they recieved in response to their efforts from various constituencies within their respective surgical communities. They were variously accused of being allied with the medical malpractice bar or the nascent corporate healthcare conglomerants. Yet, they persisted in their efforts before being deposed by a younger more corporations regime who, while competent practicioners, seemed to be more focused on sustainable wealth generation. Subsequently, they both retired from active practice but remained vocal critics of the worsening drift in standards and accountability until their respective demises. If they were alive today, I think they would be disappointed to learn that not much has changed.
They maintained that a good surgeon should know their limitations and accept only those cases they could potentially trat successfully. When possible they should refer patients to other more capable practicioners and/or seek second opinions and consults. During procedures should strive to be effective and respectful team leaders and maintain OR disciple and decorum. If issues arose during a procedure that may have resulted in a patient’s poor outcome or death, the surgeon should undego a fair and honest medical adjudication process and recieve support from his institution where the procedure was performed. Sadly, this not now, nor has it ever been the case. Today, many a surgeon in private/ corporate practices seem to suffer from insuperable arrogance compounded by the legend in their own mind syndrome and insational greed. This leads them to take exceptional/unacceptable/inappropriate risks to maintain their procedural volumes and income for themselves and their corporate partners. This process is aided and abetted by various surgical equipment/device/biopharmaceutical companies. Thus, there are still incompetent geezer surgeons hacking, maiming and killing patients to this day.