As people age in Pennsylvania, certain activities may become more difficult. They may not have the strength they once had when they were younger. Aging can also affect eyesight, hearing and fine motor skills as well. It can affect people cognitively as well, not just physically. Memory may fade, decision-making may take more time and other parts of the brain may not work as well as they once did.
The effects of the aging process vary from person to person though. Sometimes people will have cognitive problems much younger than others. Other people may not really be affected at all. The physical effects also vary. Some may need joint replacements or suffer neurological problems that others do not experience. There is no set age when people will experience certain issues.
How aging affects people will affect how they are able to perform their job. Some people, such as doctors, have jobs where they need to be in a good condition both physically and mentally in order to perform their job tasks. If they make mistakes the consequences can have serious effects on their patients’ lives.
Why an age limit could be age discrimination
One debate that may be intensifying is whether there should be a mandatory retirement age for doctors. For some doctors, this could make sense, in order to ensure that patients are receiving the proper care. However, a mandatory retirement age could also be seen as age discrimination for the doctors, because these are employment decisions being made solely based on age.
While there is certainly a valid concern to ensure doctors are capable of performing their jobs, many believe that there is a better way than having an age limit. Many within the profession believe that the best solution is to have doctors undergo mandatory assessments to determine whether they are capable of doing their jobs since age affects everyone in different ways.
While everyone may agree that doctors in Pennsylvania who physically cannot perform the job tasks should no longer practice, how to ensure that occurs is contested. How a doctor is treated at work should not be based on their age and blanket age limits could be seen as age discrimination. If there are policies in place like that, doctors may consider consulting with experienced attorneys to discuss the policies.