For Doctors(ˈdäktər), Age May Be More Than a Number

For Doctors(ˈdäktər), Age May Be More Than a Number

By Haider(hēdər) Javed(həvēdə) Warraich

When I went on Terry(təri) Gross’s(grōs) radio(ˈrādēˌō) show last year, the very first question(ˈkwesCHən) she asked me was one I get asked during my work as a doctor all the time:

“Can I ask how old you are?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“So when family members or loved ones see you,” she went on, “do they ever look at you and go, ‘You’re so young, how can I trust(trəst) you?’”

In many professions(prəˈfeSHən), a premium(ˈprēmēəm) is placed(plās) on experience(ikˈspi(ə)rēəns), with age often(ˈäf-,ˈôf(t)ən) a surrogate(-ˌgāt,ˈsərəgit) for expertise(-ˈtēs,ˌekspərˈtēz) — but probably(ˈpräblē,ˈpräbəblē) no profession places more primacy(ˈprīməsē) on age than medicine(ˈmedisən). Nothing is more reassuring(ˌrēəˈSHo͝or) to patients(ˈpāSHənt) than seeing a silver(ˈsilvər)-haired(he(ə)r) doctor walk up to their bedside. To this day, medicine is largely(ˈlärjlē) an apprenticeship(əˈprentisˌSHip), with young physicians(fiˈziSHən) huddling(ˈhədl) around older physicians, straining(strān) to catch every word, so as to not lose(lo͞oz) a nugget(ˈnəgət) of wisdom(ˈwizdəm). Experience(ikˈspi(ə)rēəns) is even written(rātən) into our dress(dres) codes: Students in many medical(ˈmedikəl) schools cannot wear long white coats, unlike their seniors(ˈsēnyər); in some, even medical residents(ˈrez(ə)dənt,ˈrezəˌdent) can’t have coats that extend(ikˈstend) much below the waist(wāst).

Yet, as the field(fēld) evolves(iˈvälv) into one where data(ˈdatə,ˈdātə) and evidence(ˈevədəns) are beginning(biˈginiNG) to outweigh(ˌoutˈwā) anecdotes(ˈanikˌdōt) and opinions(əˈpinyən), one thing is becoming increasingly(iNG-,inˈkrēsiNGlē) clear: In medicine, a lack(lak) of experience may not actually be a bad thing.

A paper published last year by researchers at Harvard showed something very striking(ˈstrīkiNG) — patients being taken care of by younger doctors were less likely to die. Younger, less experienced physicians are also less likely to order unnecessary(ˌənˈnesəˌserē) tests in both men and women, to face disciplinary(ˈdisəpləˌnerē) action from state medical boards(bôrd) or be cited(sīt) for improper(imˈpräpər) prescription(priˈskripSHən) of opioid(ˈōpēˌoid) painkillers(ˈpānˌkilər) and other controlled(kənˈtrōl) substances(ˈsəbstəns). These findings are far from isolated(ˈīsəˌlātid): The majority(-ˈjär-,məˈjôrətē) of research shows a consistent(kənˈsistənt), positive(ˈpäztiv,ˈpäzətiv) relationship between lack of experience and better quality(ˈkwälətē) of clinical(ˈklinikəl) care.

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/opinion/sunday/for-doctors-age-may-be-more-than-a-number.html