Interesting factoid of the week comes from Minister for Ageing Justine Elliott, who tells us that there are now almost 3000 Australians over the age of 100.
The Queen is no doubt rueing the day her grandad King George started sending out congratulatory telegrams the handful of his subjects who survived diphtheria and the Hun to make it to 100. I suppose these days Her Maj is considering switching to a congratulatory email and outsourcing the whole process to a customer service centre in Mumbai. She may be forced to, because there are certainly going to be a lot more people over 100 – Minister Elliott tells us the projections are for 78,000 by the year 2055. That’s almost enough to fill the MCG.
So who’s going to look after all these oldies? Especially with that much quoted statistic of something like 90% of a person’s lifetime medical needs being concentrated in the last few years of life.
I got to thinking how many of those 78000 centenarians will be doctors and whether any of them will still practising. Not as bizarre as you think, after reading about GP Dr Bruce Dolman in this week’s Coff’s Coast Independent(link).
Dr Dolman is reluctantly hanging up his stethoscope this month at the age of 90. He is not retiring because of old age, but because he can’t find a new practice manager. “If I had my way, I’d keep on working,” he says. “You don’t want to give up something you enjoy doing so much – nobody does.”
Dr Dolman says he’s tried retiring before, but has always been drawn back to medicine.
“I had a go at playing bowls across the road (Coffs Ex-Services Club), but every Saturday afternoon that I tried to play a patient would come over and get me,” he says.
No doubt there are many more out there like Dr Dolman and if the government had any sense it would be thinking of ways to encouraging older doctors to stay in the workforce. With such a large pool of experienced doctors nearing retirement, incentives for them to work even a few sessions a week for an extra year or two could make a huge difference to the workforce crisis.
And we hear a lot about the “grey nomad” retirees who set out to travel round Australia after retirement. At a time when many rural communities are turning to nurse practitioners and physicians assistants for medical care, a canny government might want to think of ways of encouraging grey medical nomads to spend some of their retirement working part time in rural and remote Australia.
What do you think?
Comments
I was one of Dr Dolmans patients for 10 yrs and only stopped when i had to move away last year he was a great doctor who was constantly keeping in touch with new developments by going to seminars he was one of the only doctors i have had who knew of a rare condition my father had. Our first meeting with him ws when my husband stepped on a razor blade in the shower and slit his foot open. As we were new to Coffs harbour we didnt have a regular Dr and no one would take us at such short notice(going to the hospital meant a 5 hr wait or more just for stitches)when we walked in we were very apprehensive when we saw his age and even more so when he was hand was shaking. But when he started stitching my husbands foot there was no sign of a shake and he did an awesome job. we were hooked after that.I went on to have 2 children who even after getting needles from him were always delighted to go to him and my daughter always gave him cuddles when she saw him.Betty was the best practice manager you could find and always chatted to you and knew what was going on. They could always fit you in when you needed an appointment. I am very sad to see he has left and Coffs will lose a great guy and a awesome doctor. Posted by michelle roelandts on Monday, 9 June 2008
What terrifies me most, is the prospect of an ageing GP, out of touch with modern techniques and relying on the placebo effect to treat patients. I remember meeting one such GP in a nursing home where he was seeing a patient and then proceeded to exit the building, through the linen closet. And yet, there was collusion between the nursing staff and the pharmacist to allow this old codger to continue practising in a haphazard and dangerous manner. He could no longer effectively write prescriptions due to his dementia but nurses would assist him and the pharmacist who knew about this continued to dispense his nonsensical medication errors. Please forcibly deregister me when I become old and decrepit. Posted by Dr Raymond Seidler on Monday, 12 May 2008
There are various work opportunities for grey nomads around Australia, that use their skills. Last year the outback town of Barcaldine established a pilot program for grey nomads..where they could work on community projects. There are various volunteering opportunities as well as paid opportunities around Australia that I have been researching via our books (Retire Bizzi, 21 Ways To Retire, Where To Retire In Australia etc) and seminars.
It is important to keep doing something you love, for as long as you can. With the skills and experience of doctors, it is important they continue to contribute. Studies have shown that work not only gives income, but also self expression, self esteem, structure and a feeling that you have made a contribution.
Perhaps they could be tempted with free supplies of aricept
Posted by V Stewart on Friday, 9 May 2008
I will be 79 this year & still working 4 sessions per week . I seem to see a lot of Geriatrics like myself. It is still a challenge to keep them fit and active. Many are younger & less fit physically and mentally than I am . There are many like me still working productively but the Government & other agencies are making life more difficult with their red tape . The average age of GP,s in my division is in the mid 50’s and I know many of the younger ones have no intention of working into their 70’s . At least some tax breaks would be a help at our age.
I have great admiration for people like Dr Dolman – they are a rare breed !
