Older Docs: what are they doing?

Older Docs Phasing Out Their Practice

48% of physicians between 50 and 65 years of age are planning to reduce or end their clinical practice in the next 1 to 3 years. The findings also suggest that many older physicians believe that their younger counterparts do not have the work ethic they do. The survey, which was conducted by Merritt Hawkins & Associates, a Texas-based physician search and consulting firm, suggests that many older physicians are simply unhappy with the changes that have taken place in medicine over the years.

"When Baby Boom doctors entered medicine they had control over how they practiced and the fee they charged. But the ! rules changed on them in mid-stream and now many are looking for a ticket out," Mark Smith, executive vice president of Merritt Hawkins & Associates, said in a statement.

For those physicians not leaving clinical practice, many said they would make changes to reduce the amount of patients they treat. For instance, 12 percent said they would begin working part-time, 8 percent said they planned to stop taking new patients or markedly reduce their patient load, and 4 percent expressed a desire to work on a temporary basis. When asked about the work ethic of physicians entering practice today, 68 percent of the respondents said that these younger doctors are not as dedicated or as hard working as physicians who entered practice 20 to 30 years ago.

Fifty-seven percent of older physicians said they would not recommend medicine as a career to their own children. Similarly, 44 percent said they would not select medicine as career if they were starting out today. "The most ominous finding is that about one half of physicians surveyed plan to either abandon patient care in the next 1 to 3 years, or significantly reduce the number of patients they see," Smith said. "The U.S. already is facing a widespread shortage of physicians. Should older, 'workhorse' physicians choose to opt out of patient care, access to medical services will be further restricted."

Director of CMDA Campus & Community Ministries Al Weir, MD:

"Most doctors work very long hours under time urgent, life and death decision-making pressure. So, it is not a surprise that many of them wish to reduce those pressures after 20-30 years of practice. At CMDA we are seeing the same phenomena, but we find that many Christian doctors choose this time in their lives to redirect their efforts such that their lives are more focused on God’s kingdom.

We have now developed and are running an 18 month distant learning course called Completing Your Call, to help doctors in such a position find God’s will for the next season of their lives.

Rather than retiring, these doctors are looking at 'restructuring' their lives toward ministry in areas such as: healthcare for the poor, overseas missions, more deliberate mentoring of younger Christian doctors, developing CMDA ministry within their home city, speaking out on vital rights of conscience and ethical! issues, continuing practice in a more Christ honoring way and living with a greater focus on the relationships within their own families. The 50-65 year range is a time for change for many doctors.

If you are at that point in your life and wish to change in a way that will glorify Christ, please contact us. We would love to walk with you down such a road."