Age Distribution

The table below give the age distribution of all Alabama physicians, primary care physicians, specialists, rural physicians, and urban physicians.

Summary Statistics

All of the age distributions, except for rural physicians, are distinctly bimodal, with one mode in the mid 30s and another in the mid 60s. The pattern for rural physicians is less clear. However, rural physicians are clearly older on average than urban physicians, as measured by the mean or the median.

Grouped Age Distribution

The graph and table below give the age distribution by ten-year age groups. These elements also clearly show that the rural workforce is older.

Retirement Age Distribution

Physicians begin to retire, or significantly cut back on workload, at about age 65. The Alabama BME database gives very little information on the extent to which physicians that are licensed in Alabama are actually practicing medicine. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to assume that many physicians that are 65 or older are not practicing full time. The graph and table below give the distribution of physicians by retirement age. Again, the most important fact is higher percentage of rural physicians who are at retirement age.