One of my worst fears is that I'll develop a terminal illness while still working full-time, and thus not get to enjoy a real retirement. Intellectually I understand that if I punch out too soon, I could regret it, though emotionally the possibility of being free of the burdens of clinical medicine sounds blissful. My parents retired at age 55 and 60 and seem happier in their retirement than they were while working.
On the other end of the spectrum is one of the doctors in our group, who is planning to stop full-time practice next year at 75. Mainly because of his sluggishness and inefficiency, but also because he goes above and beyond what most of us do, he works at least 12 hours every day, and often does paperwork on the weekends. He's even stuck out the implementation of a terrible EMR in the last year that has been miserably difficult to adjust to for even the docs who aren't as technologically impaired. I don't know how, let alone why, he does it. He will still continue to work part-time for us and otherwise "keep doing what I'm doing now, except not get paid for it."
I have colleagues who work with doctors over age 80 who continue with their jobs even when they don't seem physically capable of keeping up with the demands any more.
It is pretty much impossible for me to get my mind around this. I would understand it if someone can't stop working because they can't afford to. That's not the case with the doctor in my group, so I can only imagine he does it because he has no idea what else he'll do. I know a huge portion of us have a FIRE mentality and probably can't relate to it either, but do any of you know docs like this, or even plan to keep practicing full-time until your health makes you quit? If so, for what reason(s)? Undimmed love for clinical practice, fear of cognitive decline, fear of boredom, and sense of moral obligation seem to be the most likely of these. I also wonder if there is a big difference in generational mentality and the number of physicians who choose to do this will dwindle accordingly.
On the other end of the spectrum is one of the doctors in our group, who is planning to stop full-time practice next year at 75. Mainly because of his sluggishness and inefficiency, but also because he goes above and beyond what most of us do, he works at least 12 hours every day, and often does paperwork on the weekends. He's even stuck out the implementation of a terrible EMR in the last year that has been miserably difficult to adjust to for even the docs who aren't as technologically impaired. I don't know how, let alone why, he does it. He will still continue to work part-time for us and otherwise "keep doing what I'm doing now, except not get paid for it."
I have colleagues who work with doctors over age 80 who continue with their jobs even when they don't seem physically capable of keeping up with the demands any more.
It is pretty much impossible for me to get my mind around this. I would understand it if someone can't stop working because they can't afford to. That's not the case with the doctor in my group, so I can only imagine he does it because he has no idea what else he'll do. I know a huge portion of us have a FIRE mentality and probably can't relate to it either, but do any of you know docs like this, or even plan to keep practicing full-time until your health makes you quit? If so, for what reason(s)? Undimmed love for clinical practice, fear of cognitive decline, fear of boredom, and sense of moral obligation seem to be the most likely of these. I also wonder if there is a big difference in generational mentality and the number of physicians who choose to do this will dwindle accordingly.
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