Age and anesthetic practice: A regional perspective

Study Objective: To obtain information about practitioners' behaviors, perc eptions, and perspectives concerning issues related to advancing age and an esthetic practice. Design: Questionnaire survey mailed to 1,208 active and retired American So ciety of Anesthesiologists (ASA) members in Northern New England. Topics in cluded hours worked, practice policies, stress level of activities, observe d in colleagues and personally perceived errors and problems associated wit h performance, and plans, preparation, and reasons for retirement. Setting: Practicing respondents worked in academic, community, or federal h ospitals, and in ambulatory surgical facilities. Measurements and Main Results: For descriptive analysis, counts and frequen cy distributions were calculated for each question. Statistical methods wer e used to test differences across age groups and to identify sources of dif ferences. Approximately 40% of respondents in each age group worked an aver age work week of 50 to 59 hours. Respondents aged 40 to 49 years worked the longest work weeks and duty periods and were more concerned about liabilit y issues than other age groups. Respondents age 60+ tended to work shorter average and maximum work weeks, although 5% of them continued to work 70- t o 79-hour weeks. There was no statistically significant difference in hours worked among mea and women. Approximately 20% to 30% of respondents reliev ed older colleagues of late night or Gall duties, and asked them to restric t or to stop practice out of concern for patient safety. Night call was equ ally stressful for all age groups. Economic uncertainty, production pressur e, and interpersonal relations were more stressful for younger respondents. In preparation for retirement, shifting away from complex cases and Phased reduction in clinical activity were increasingly prevalent with each advan cing age group. Important reasons for retirement included attitude changes, physical limitations, and declining health. Conclusions: Despite modest age-associated trends, chronological age per se is not a strong correlate of an individual's practice pattern, behaviors, or perceptions about performance. (C) 1999 by Elsevier Science Inc.