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31-Retiring –
from medicine, but not from life
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"It is not
by muscle, speed or physical dexterity that great
things are achieved, but by reflection, force of
character, and judgment; in these qualities old
age is usually not only not poorer, but is even
richer. "
- Cicero. |
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Traditionally, practicing physicians saw no need to retire.
Many feel that they are indispensable to their patients and
the exalted role that physicians enjoy both professionally
and socially is difficult to abandon. At most, aging physicians
simply reduced their workload; and most retired only when
forced to do so because of ill-health.
However, trends are now changing, and many doctors are choosing
to retire. Some are being “pushed” to retire,
because they are fed up of having to deal with the increasing
hassles of providing patient care in the new millennium, and
have burntout; while others are “pulled” to retire
because they would like to spend part of their life enjoying
themselves; they feel economically secure and want more time
to enjoy other things in life, such as their grandchildren
Remember that just like you can start your career when you
feel the time is right – at the age of 25 or 30; you
can also retire when you feel the time is right. There is
no magic number at which you should retire, and many physicians
have continued to lead productive lives practicing excellent
medicine to the ripe old age of 90 too ! Most doctors never
retire officially – after all, why waste all those years
of accumulated experience ? As you become more senior, it
is also likely that more and more patients will start to seek
you out, and if patients need your services, why should you
refuse to give them the benefit of your many years of knowledge
?
What can physicians do to make the last one or two decades
of their lives enjoyable? Retirement is your final career
and requires every bit as much thinking and planning as your
other career decisions. Ask yourself: What would you do if
you did not have to work for a living ? What you would like
to leave behind for posterity ? Where do you want to live?
How will you use your time so you feel productive and inspired?
What are your interests? What role will your family play?
Do you want to be closer to your children—or farther
away? You also need to prepare for a possible decline in health—your
own and that of your family and loved ones. It’s also
important that you have a plan in place as regards your clinic
. If you want to sell it, the best time to do so is when you
are still in active practice, so that you can capitalise on
your professional goodwill. Many doctors find that taking
in a junior partner, who will then buy you out in a few years
when you are ready to retire, makes the transition as smoothly
as possible. Don’t retire until you have enough financial
security to lead a life of comfort; and enough financial reserves
to cope with emergencies. Otherwise you may find that you
are financially dependent upon your children, and this can
be very uncomfortable, especially if you have been used to
being the breadwinner all your life.
Planning for retirement and being ready for it emotionally
are often two different things, particularly for physicians.
Many doctors resist retirement but lingering in the profession
too long can be tragic. Don’t wait till colleagues and
patients start talking of you as a doddering old fool. Doctors
who find the idea of retirement uncomfortable have become
so used to seeing patients day in and day out, that they really
don’t have much of a life outside their clinic. They
are much happier being Dr Desai, rather than being the old
man who lives up the street. And their self-esteem is so closely
tied to their “being a doctor”, that they are
not happy to let this go. This is why while many physicians
look forward to retiring, others dread the prospect. Upon
retirement, they mourn the loss of their position - not just
among their colleagues , but in society as a whole. No one
seeks you out for your medical skills anymore – and
you soon learn the hard way who your real friends are ! You
may feel diminished because all you have is your money –
and your memories. For most people, it is normal to feel a
loss of identity upon retirement, but physicians may feel
this most strongly. From the time we enter medicine, we are
told that the most important thing in our lives is our patients
- before wife, children and family. No wonder we have such
difficulty when we leave our patients behind. For many doctors,
the clinic provides a daily place to go. If you suddenly have
no place else to be, it can be a loss.
While many physicians worry about what the quality of their
lives will be after retirement, the good news is that studies
show that retirement has a predominately positive impact on
the emotional state of physicians. Many are happy to be relieved
of the demands of practice, and also enjoy indulging in pleasurable
activities such as travel, leisure sports, dabbling in the
stock market and playing with their grandchildren. Retirement
allows more time for physical exercise and health may actually
improve during retirement. However, about one-quarter of physicians
will experience some depression after retirement, because
of their sense of loss of self-esteem; poor health; diminishing
cognitive skills; or unhappy marital relationship.
Retirement is easiest if work isn't the only thing that gives
you satisfaction in life. If all you have done is just work
at your job your whole life and then you suddenly retire,
that's an acute loss. However, if you're involved with your
family, have hobbies and multiple interests, and participate
in your community, when you retire you lose only part of your
emotional investment. The best preparation may be simply to
expect some stress from the transition to retirement. For
many doctors, that first year is a difficult period, but after
that, most of them happily integrate themselves into their
new life.
Once you retire, your most important relationship will be
with your spouse , and this will be a reflection of your lives
together. A non-supportive spouse will never find a friend
waiting for him in retirement. Make sure you do your homework
well in the thirty or forty years prior to retirement. Don't
suddenly expect to find a good mate waiting for you in retirement
- especially if you weren't a good mate. Interestingly, the
marriage often becomes stronger after retirement, because
the couple spends more time together, and become more dependent
on that relationship as a source of support, as they grow
old together. In fact, a third of physicians felt that their
retirement years were the best years of the life, and were
as good as they years they spent courting, gaining professional
status, and attaining financial security.
A successful retirement may depend on identifying what really
matters to you, and then keeping those aspects alive. This
is the one time in your life when you can do things purely
for yourself. You can enjoy yourself and goof off, without
feeling guilty about it ! It’s most important to remain
intellectually active . Without this, the human organism withers
and dies. The good news is that you no longer need to focus
exclusively on medicine. You can now pursue whatever interests
you – whether it is a hobby; or a completely different
profession . Learn for the sake of learning, because it is
enjoyable ; and it’s a good goal to try to learn something
new every day. Don’t use your age as an excuse to stop
learning – the brain remains as young as you choose
to keep it !
Consider your body, mind, and spirit and take reasonably vigorous
exercise in each area. What’s true for your brain is
even truer for your body, because if you don’t use it,
you will lose it. Physical activity is another necessity ,
and having a sport you enjoy can be a huge blessing. Along
with your mind and body, remember also that we all have a
creative side to us, and we need to exercise this to maintain
full health. There are many creative activities on offer if
we don't already have some, or are seeking something new,
and plenty of available information. A balanced portfolio
would include two inside pursuits for inclement weather, two
outside for fresh air and exercise, two solo for peace, and
two in company for stimulation.
You can now be financially relaxed , because you are no longer
under any pressure to earn more money or keep up with the
Joneses. The good news is that you can shed the administrative
aspects of medicine, but keep on helping patients. Since you
are a doctor, and there will never be a shortage of patients,
the good news is that there are many opportunities for volunteer
work and charity work for doctors, no matter what your age.
You can be true to yourself, and as eccentric as you please,
because you don’t have to put on a show for anyone else
anymore.
Growing old can be difficult to cope with; and most of us
have been so used to giving orders and taking care of our
patients, that we can find it hard to let anyone else take
care of us. You may also find you are socially isolated, because
you may have distanced yourself from friends and family in
your professional pursuits. It may be difficult to pick up
these threads – but the good news is that there is a
whole new generation of grandchildren you can become friends
with !
Hinduism very wisely described the four stages of life –
the four dharmas. Once you retire, you have reached the vanaprastha
stage. However, you don’t need to retire to the forest
and live as a hermit. Instead, you can use this stage to serve
as a mentor to your juniors; and give back to your community
what it has given to you. You need to start preparing for
the end of your life, and you will find that serving others
unselfishly is the one thing in life which can give you the
most happiness. You have now become an Elder, and can provide
guidance and advice to the Youngsters. You have now become
wise, after years of hard knocks and weathering life’s
ups and downs and have a chance to share your wisdom with
the world, since you are no longer in the rat race. Your motto
should be to grow from ageing to sageing, so you are a respected
elder in the community. It’s nice to be respected, but
remember you have to earn that respect to deserve it. Not
having to do things with a vested interest or for purely selfish
reasons can be very exhilarating – you can now finally
learn what freedom really means !
This is also an excellent chance to get ready to make peace
with yourself, and prepare for the final stage of life - dying
and death. You can explore your spirituality, and do things
just for yourself, so that you can make this stage of your
life the most important and the most satisfying.
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