“There is no secret to becoming a centenarian, it’s straightforward.”
This is the view of France’s oldest doctor, Christian Chenay, who is still working at his practice on the outskirts of Paris at the age of 98.
“It’s good for my health to keep active,” he added, in an interview with the BBC program Newshour.
But apart from being good for his own health, Mr Chenay is still practising after 70 years because of the obvious good it does his patients.
In numerous interviews with media outlets from across the globe who visit to report on Mr Chenay’s longevity, they extol his caring nature and the trust he is held in by the local community.
“He’s someone you can talk to, who you feel comfortable with,” one patient told media outlet Brut.
“He knows my illnesses inside out, he knows my habits. I don’t see him only as my doctor, to me he’s like a dad,” said another to the BBC.
Mr Chenay sees patients on two mornings a week, and he is the only local doctor who allows patients to turn up without an appointment. If he closed down his practice, he would likely not be replaced as France is facing a drastic shortage of family doctors. In Chevilly-Larue, where Mr Chenay practises, there are only three doctors for a population of 19,000.
“This doctor is really loved because he takes time to listen to you, he calms you down,” Yamina Derni told the Guardian.
“You don’t even notice his age,” added the 63-year-old, who had been treated for benign tumours.
“He’s got an amazing memory and he takes time to investigate the why and how of what’s wrong,” said Sarah Lahrouchi, 31, a patient of Chenay’s since she was born.
Christian Chenay practices in a suburb of Paris.
Christian Chenay is a wonderful example of someone who loves the work that they do and so can continue doing it well past an age at which most of us would retire.
But he also seems to be an excellent doctor and a real asset to the community, as the emphasis of his treatment is on care. One patient even compared him to a psychologist, and it’s easy to see why: Mr Chenay believes in getting to know his patients and talking to them in order to get to the bottom of whatever the problem is.
His approach echoes that of Sir William Osler, a doctor who lived 1849-1919 and is considered by many to be the father of modern medicine. He said: “It is much more important to know what sort of patient has a disease than what sort of disease a patient has.”
He added: “The good physician treats the disease, the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.
Mr Chenay has said that a large part of his work as a local doctor involves helping patients with underlying mental health issues, especially in a low-income Paris suburb where there is high unemployment and many get by on very little.
Mr Chenay reports excellent eyesight and hearing, and says he has no plans to retire any time soon. We could use a few more local doctors like him, whatever age they are!