Does your doctor’s age matter?

<p>"If I had $100 for every time I walked into a patient’s room, introduced myself as the doctor, and was immediately asked, 'Hey, how old are you?' I might be able to retire right now — at the age of 28. Of course, I am exaggerating, and yet this question echoes for my baby-faced colleagues and me constantly.</p> <p>Whether it’s simple curiosity or blatant reverse-ageism, I find this question erodes trust before it is built. I haven’t yet found an agreeable way to bypass it. I usually just state my age before quickly moving on. Rarely, some congratulate me on my accomplishments given 'such a young age.' But these felicitations are like writing in the sand, which quickly wash away in the waves of emotions I begin to feel the moment they ask me that question."</p> <p><a href= "https://blogs.jwatch.org/general-medicine/index.php/author/sshah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sneha Shah</a> is an internal medicine chief resident who blogs at <a href= "http://blogs.jwatch.org/general-medicine/" target="_blank" rel= "nofollow noopener noreferrer">Insights on Residency Training</a>, a part of <a href="http://www.jwatch.org/" target= "_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">NEJM Journal Watch</a>.</p> <p>She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "<a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/does-your-doctors-age-matter.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Does your doctor’s age matter?</a>" (<a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/does-your-doctors-age-matter.html">https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/does-your-doctors-age-matter.html</a>)</p>