The Aging Physician and Surgeon

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Medical Education
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The aging physician population necessitates reliable methods for assessing cognitive function.
• Current methods for evaluating cognitive changes and predicting performance decline in physicians are not widely accepted or utilized.
• There is a growing need for standardized cognitive assessment tools for physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing literature on cognitive assessment in aging physicians and pilots.
• To propose a reduced neuropsychological cognitive test protocol for research.
• To highlight the need for longitudinal data correlating cognitive function with clinical performance.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature review was conducted using Medline, PubMed, and other relevant databases.
• Articles focusing on geriatric physicians and aging pilots were summarized, with an emphasis on evaluation methods.
• Neuropsychological cognitive test protocols were analyzed to propose a suitable evaluation framework.

Main Results:

• Existing literature includes studies on cognitive function in aging physicians and pilots, with some institutions implementing cognitive evaluations.
• However, there is a lack of longitudinal data tracking physicians' cognitive function over time and correlating it with their clinical performance.
• Current evaluations do not provide long-term insights into cognitive changes and their impact on practice.

Conclusions:

• Valid and reliable cognitive function testing for physicians is essential.
• Longitudinal testing of physicians, starting at a younger age, is recommended to understand the predictive value of cognitive assessments.
• Multi-institutional, long-term studies are proposed to establish correlations between cognitive function, age-related changes, and clinical performance, potentially including manual dexterity and frailty assessments.