Does your doctor’s age matter?

If you go to the hospital for a medical procedure with someone who isn’t your primary care physician, it’s likely the first time you’re ever meeting that doctor. You certainly want someone who is going to do a terrific job, but you don’t know very much about them and you may have no influence over who you get.

One of the first things that you’ll notice is the person’s age. Is this going to impact the level of care that you get? Are you better off having an older or a younger doctor?

The benefit of experience

There can be pros and cons in both directions. For one thing, older doctors have more experience and that can help them avoid mistakes. They may simply have seen cases like yours so many times that they recognize what’s going on immediately. A younger doctor may be more overwhelmed and not know what they’re looking at, and that could lead to an error.

More recent training

On the other side of the coin, one of the complaints about older doctors is that they haven’t actually had any professional training in a long time. They may not be as familiar with medical advances. The industry has changed a lot over the years; do you really want a doctor who was in medical school 30 years ago? In that sense, having a younger doctor could help you avoid mistakes because they will be more well-versed in the advances in technology and care options.

Unfortunately, no matter what type of doctor you get, there is always some level of risk in the hospital. If you suffered a serious injury due to medical malpractice, then you need to know what legal options you have.