To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose: retirement and the neurosurgeon

Abstract

Neurosurgery has designed a rigid curriculum that must be followed precisely by those who wish to enter the specialty. A similar process at the other end of the practice cycle has never been formalized except for mandatory retirement from certain administrative positions at a particular age. Basic considerations for strategic decision making about voluntary retirement from neurosurgery, especially operative neurosurgery, are investigated. Statistical data from the US Census Bureau and sources in the medical literature were reviewed regarding life expectancy and retirement ages. Age-related differences in verbal and performance intelligence quotients, attention span, verbal memory recall, and visuospatial facility were surveyed. A questionnaire was sent to 29 recently retired academic neurosurgeons about their age and reasons for retirement along with postretirement activities; 22 responses were received. Analysis of the data indicates that surgeons are now retiring at the age of approximately 60 years, whereas life expectancy is approximately 80 years. An individual thus may have 15 to 20 productive years after leaving active neurosurgical practice. Reasons for retirement among the 22 responding neurosurgeons included decreasing personal satisfaction and financial rewards, a desire to pursue other activities, local ground rules mandating age-specific retirement, the general sense that enough is enough, and, overall, a strong desire to stop performing surgery while at the top of one's game. The process of age-related competence assessment of commercial airline pilots is outlined, and a similar process of assessment of practicing surgeons may be warranted, with consideration for mandatory retirement from operative neurosurgery.

Work Satisfaction and Retirement Plans of Orthopaedic Surgeons 50 Years of Age and Older

“…Our study made no attempts to assess cognitive abilities. Greenfield and Proctor [2] and Rovit [7] cited competence assessment should be an area of future study.…”

“…The average age of retirement for general surgery fellows increased from 60 years in 1984 to 63 years in 1995 [3,4]. A far smaller survey of neurosurgeons found an average retirement age of 60 years [7]. Reasons for retirement included decreasing personal satisfaction and financial rewards, a desire to pursue other activities, and local rules mandating retirement [7].…”

“…A far smaller survey of neurosurgeons found an average retirement age of 60 years [7]. Reasons for retirement included decreasing personal satisfaction and financial rewards, a desire to pursue other activities, and local rules mandating retirement [7]. These studies attempted to survey age-related differences in verbal and performance intelligence quotients [2].…”

“…A previous study investigated attitudes about retirement of orthopaedic surgeons [6]. Other surgical specialties have been surveyed regarding retirement demographics and plans [2][3][4]7].…”

The Problem of the Aging Surgeon: When Surgeon Age Becomes a Surgical Risk Factor

“…First to go is strength, then eyesight, then dexterity, and finally cognition [10,18,19]. Knowledge, experience, and reputation can compensate for a long time.…”