KevinMD September 1, 2024
You’d think surgeons would be the first to know when to hang up their scalpel, but alas, they’re as stubborn as a rusted bolt. When should a surgeon put down the knife and stop pretending they’re not going blind? It’s a question of cognitive decline, ego, and knowing when to pass the baton—or in this case, the scalpel.
Unlike our colleagues in internal medicine, surgeons wield sharp objects, making the temporal relationship between their actions and patient outcomes hard to miss. As a result, there has been significant academic soul-searching about when a surgeon should retire.
While wine and some cheeses improve with age, the same cannot be said for humans, especially in the years leading up to retirement.
“Knowledge...
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