I've just hit 50, and that comes with a round of testing and screening to ensure all the various issues that come along with age get checked. It's very comprehensive, and my existing male doctor included a testosterone test in the pile to see if I was a bit low.

After those were ordered and done, but before I got my results analyzed, an opening appeared at the doctor's office in the building where I have my own office, which was like winning the physician lottery. My existing doctor has his office across town, and I have to take a day off work (for the most part) to go and see him. He's always busy, runs at least an hour wait even with an appointment ... that kind of thing. Once you're in, the care is decent, but he's clearly rushed, and makes a lot of minor mistakes like addresses, etc. Walking downstairs from my office would be a godsend.

So, I went for my onboarding with my new female physician, and she analyzed my results. She indicated I was actually a bit low for testosterone, but said that she wouldn't even normally screen for it - ever. The sense I got was that if women had to tolerate menopause, then men had to tolerate the decline of their testosterone levels, ie. it's normal aging. So, I asked, "How low is low? Give me numbers and let me make an informed choice." She instantly started back pedaling, because it actually turned out that I was right at the bottom of the 'normal' scale, and could potentially benefit from treatment, and she knew it.

I have my full physical in a few days, which is the second half of the onboarding, but I've been really bothered by her stance. She's young and has only been in practice a year and a half. My previous doctor, rushed as he was, was male, my age, and was treating my wife at the same time, so he kind of knows both our background. In a lot of ways, he treats us as a unit.

What do you think? Young doctor unable to work with older patients and their concerns? Female doctor unable or unwilling to put the effort into male concerns? Give her a trial run of a few months? Pull the plug?