Planning your career after retirement - Career Management

Physician Executive, Sept, 1995 by George E. Linney, Jr.

A couple of years ago, I celebrated my 50th birthday. I think that means that, I was closer to retirement than I was to the start of my medical career in private practice that began in 1972. I defied aging not long afterward by running the first annual Walt Disney World Marathon. In spite of that 26-mile defiance, the health care world still expects me and other physician executives to retire at age 65, plus or minus a few years.

What will I do next? Some of you who have known me for a long time might expect me to play golf seven days a week. I won't. Maybe three or four days per week, but not seven. Well then, what next? I guess I will have to practice what I preach, Life Work Planning. I will look at the things that really turned me on in my various careers and in my fife away from work. We call these "Energizers." I will also look at the things that drained my battery. These are "De-energizers." I will look at other written exercises that will help me to focus on what I would like to do next. I will make a list of the things that I would really like to do. My early list looks like this, in no particular order:

* Running and jogging instructor.

* Being a missionary doctor.

* Working in a health care think tank.

* Teaching something at the college level.

* Developing a program, possibly a retreat center, to assist clergy and physicians who are struggling with burn-out and other major life issues.

* Directing golf tournaments for physicians.

Participants in a seminar on retirement planning that I conducted were asked to generate lists of things that they would like to do in retirement. They shared a long list, and one of the participants suggested that most of the plans that were generated lent themselves to one of two groups:

Things that I would do for others:

* Be a missionary doctor.

* Work in international community with health systems integration.

* Teach high school.

* Become an instructor in sports psychology.

* Promote volunteerism.

* Serve as an "elder medical statesman" for colleague.

* Work as locum tenens.

* Facilitate stress adjustments for physicians.

* Serve on boards of directors for health care institutions.

* Work to make preventive medicine more important.

* Work to break the poverty cycle.

Plans for Self Improvement:

* Become computer literate.

* Meet new people and new cultures.

* Own a business.

* Do more public speaking.

* Work with Inter-Study.

* Learn a new trade.

* Write a good novel.

* Learn Spanish.

* Sail the Caribbean.

* Avoid reduction of my current life-style.

* Continue to be goal-directed.

* Continue intellectual stimulation.

* "Do what I'm doing now, but less of it."

There are practical issues to consider. One is to look at things I have really enjoyed doing in my current work and explore ways to keep doing those most enjoyable things in a part-time job or in volunteer work. I have had the opportunity to travel a lot in my current work, and I would like to continue doing so in my retirement career," especially if my health will allow it and my wife, Barbara, can do some of that travel with me.

Whenever one is making a career and/or a job change, there are some important change issues that must be dealt with:

* Geography and location. Most retirees are happier continuing to live in the places where they have been living, especially if this is a place where they have many friends and are close to family. If you are thinking about moving to some other part of the country in retirement, a good suggestion is to keep your current home and to live in that new place for six months during the most undesirable climatic conditions. Also, if you are thinking about making a geographic move to get into a new career or life-style after retirement from your current work, it is important to decide which part of the country you most want to live in and whether you would be happier in an urban, suburban, or rural area.

* Health. As we get older, we have more health concerns. In general, healthier retirees are people who stay busy, travel, exercise regularly, and make a deliberate effort to stay healthy. Older adults who continue to pursue meaningful goals seem to be healthier in general.

* Finances. Well before you plan to retire from your full-time management career or clinical practice, it is important to be sure that you and your spouse have enough money to live on. It is probably well to get the advice of a financial planner, as long as you remember that most financial planners have something to sell.

* Life-style. Many busy physician executives and clinicians have never paid much attention to life-style. Ideally, it will receive more attention in your retirement career."

* Educational Needs. Even retirees need to stay educated. If you are going to do some part-time clinical work, you may need some retooling in your clinical specialty area.

* Family Concerns. It is important to consult with your family, not only those who are living with you but also those who continue to depend on you for certain things. For instance, if you are planning to move from the east coast to the west coast or from Minnesota to Florida, find out how family members feel about it. If you and your spouse are planning to do a lot of overseas travel or even overseas work in your retirement years, at least discuss those plans with your siblings and your adult children. You may choose to do it anyway, but at least it would be good to consult with them.