66% of physicians 65+ face ageism: 4 notes

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About two-thirds of physicians age 65 and older said they experienced ageism or ageist treatment, a recent American Medial Association report on ageism found.

Experiences of Ageism Among Senior Physicians: A Qualitative Study” was based on a 2024 survey of more than 6,000 physicians 65 and older. Participants were asked open-ended questions about their experiences with ageism, if any.

Here are four findings:

1. About 18.8% of senior physicians reported being treated as irrelevant or behind dismissed, disrespected or made to feel invisible.

2. Roughly 15% said they experience ageism related to their job, workplace or career.

3. Among physicians, 6.8% had perceived limitations in career mobility or hiring, 4.2% reported feeling pressured by employers or patients to retire and 4.5% had job responsibilities taken away due to their age.

4. The researchers noticed a preference among employers for younger physicians, a perceived assumption that older physicians are cognitively incompetent and restrictions placed on otherwise normal activities for older physicians.

“What is prevailing about the antithesis of ageism is the incongruency of words versus actions,”  researchers Samuel Lin, MD, PhD, and Ved Gossain, MD, said in an AMA news release. “Nearly everyone whom you query will say that senior adults have much to offer given their longevity and wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom — but then the same characters will disregard their own words when put to the choice of supporting those same seniors for opportunities where ‘a younger person is wanted.'” 

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