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As the profession ages, will you face this?


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I honestly think this is fine.

We just had a not very old but very not OK ortho doc retire in town.

Folks in the OR have been questioning his abilities for several years. NONE of his partners or colleagues would confront him.

I saw his bad outcomes including an ACL graft put in too short in an outdated technique with significant loss of ROM, atrophy and dysfunction. Another surgery he actually dictated that he couldn't tell if he was under the acromion with the scope. He started telling patients that "medical economics" meant he couldn't do anything for their conditions..... ranting monologues on what he could do but wasn't "allowed" to.

He was unsafe and not one of his partners would say a word.

I have no issue with competency being a part of privileges or contracts. If I become unable to fathom certain tasks or situations - please remove me from practice. This guy should have been gone about 8-10 years before he retired.

Just my 2 cents

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I completely agree. I just ran into someone who still practices where I lived a couple of years ago. An Ob-Gyn who was beloved but in his early 80s recently cut a baby's face doing a c-section. The pediatrician had to suture a 30 minute old baby. A few months later he had a patient in for an ablation for vaginal bleeding. She woke from anesthesia with a bikini cut and a total hysterectomy. The hospital revoked his privileges and another on 20 miles away credentialed him.

there had to be warning signs before this happened.

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Totally fine with this, as should the AMA and NCCPA

Age is no joke and out profession has a huge amount of pressure and power - with horrid effects if we get it wrong.

I think safety to society trumps an individuals right to keep working when they are unsafe.... have seen Doc's fall asleep in the exam room and certainly not stay up to date....

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I’m in my 70s and still practice part-time. I’m not in a surgical specialty but a medical one. I endorse cognitive testing as described in the article. 

Something evidence-based...and not on how well I ski.  After all, with my baseline level of coordination, I didn't survive to this age by flying down mountains into trees!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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