You’re sitting in a waiting room at the doctor’s office, tapping your foot and trying to find something to distract yourself. You’ve been in the doctor’s office for 45 minutes, which is longer than you’ve spent before. As you wait for the doctor to diagnose the problem, you begin to worry.
Finally, after a long wait, a doctor walks out and calls out your name. He has to be at least 70 years old. Doing the math quickly in your head, you realize that he likely graduated from doctorate school in the 70s, well before many technological advancements were made. Should you be worried if he will know how to give proper treatment?
The answer is a resounding no – and here are a few reasons why.
They Have Seen Everything
You can trust an older doctor because they have been practicing medicine for decades. They have seen it all, and they know what to do. There is almost nothing you can do to surprise them.
They have been on a long medical journey, with many mentors and teachers along the way. Their knowledge has grown from their own experience as well as from a lifetime of learning from others who came before them.
They Must Love Their Job
You can trust an older doctor because they still enjoy their work, and this shows in the care they give to their patients. If a doctor has been in the same profession, or at least in the medical field for this long, surely they love what they do. The odds that they are thinking about changing their career to another field is really low, unlike a much younger doctor who may be starting to wonder if they made the right choice getting into this field.
Older doctors are also less likely to be in it for the money. By the time a doctor has been in the field that long, they are probably set up for retirement. Many of them are still working because they enjoy helping people more than sitting around at home and collecting retirement checks.
They’ve Been Learning From Others For Years
As you can imagine, a doctor who has been in practice for twenty or thirty years has had many mentors and teachers along the way. These mentors are the doctors that have taught him or her about medicine, and given them the skills needed to be successful in their field.
Many of these mentors will have come from other types of medical fields, such as surgery or internal medicine. One of the best things about having multiple mentors is that they each have different experiences with patients, giving you more options when selecting a treatment plan for yourself or your loved ones.
Doctors Have to Take CEU Courses
All doctors must take continuing medical education (CEU) courses to keep their medical license. This more than takes care of any fear you may have that they aren’t familiar with new practices or procedures. CEU courses are required to stay up-to-date on new medical procedures and treatments.
Doctors take these classes so that they can learn about the latest developments in their field of medicine, such as new medications or surgical techniques.
If a doctor does not take CEUs, their license can be revoked. Doctors also have to take continuing education courses if they want to get new medical licenses in different specialties. Some states require doctors to take at least 30 hours of CEU courses every two years, while other states require 60 hours each year.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a great doctor, look no further than an older one. They have the experience, knowledge and wisdom needed to give you the best possible care. The only legitimate reason to not work with an older doctor is if you want to have thesame doctor for years to come. Aside from that, older doctors are probably the safest and best way to go!