Competency test
During the Ronald Reagan era, I was responsible for assisting two Toronto university teaching hospitals as they established a joint geriatric assessment unit. When the unit opened, I observed the mental competency testing process for one of the first patients. The assessment team was composed of a psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, physiatrist (rehab specialist), social worker, clinical pharmacist and physical therapist.
The patient being tested was a gentleman of advanced old age, who had been admitted to the unit at the request of his family. We were aware that family motives often differ: Some are seeking optimum care for their loved one and others may want to gain control of his or her material resources.
In this case, the man answered orientation questions (date and place) correctly but when asked to name the president of the United States, he replied, “The United States doesn’t have a president.” The team members cast knowing glances at one another. Poor old soul. The next question was, “If the United States doesn’t have a president, what does it have?” The patient smiled and said, “They have an actor.”
Our group of professionals, all under age 50, had been caught practicing ageism. Ageism is as rampant and destructive as racism and sexism, but often invisible even to those who practice it, and much more widely tolerated in the community.
GOP presidential nominee hopeful Nikki Haley has proposed that politicians over the age of 75 be required to have mental competency testing. Does she also believe that voters older than 75 should be tested, to confirm their eligibility to vote? After all, the voters are the decision-makers who determine who the other decision-makers will be.