Retirement From Medicine - A Time of Transition

Retirement is a time of transition. You may bepicture was it? Of course things are very different
dreading it or looking forward to it. It is a time tothese days, or are they?
re-assess your life. A time to come to terms with theMaybe you chose to retire before the statutory
fact that you no longer have forever to achieve whatretirement age. Maybe you were made redundant.
you want. It's about coming to terms with your ownPerhaps a health issue forced you into taking early
ageing and eventual mortality.retirement. Or perhaps you decided to leave Medicine
It is a time to recognise what you can and can't do. Butto satisfy a life long yearning to do something entirely
that doesn't mean it's a depressing time, or a time to sitdifferent, perhaps something creative which you feel
back and fall into heap in the corner.you could now do because you've earned enough to
Not a time to raise your hands and drop your head incover your day to day needs for the next part of
a resigned sort of a way and do absolutely nothing. Noyour life. It's challenging and sometimes a bit scary to
it is a time to recognise the changes that will happenenter into any new phase of life and dealing with
when you stop your working as a doctor, whatevertransition and change may have it's ups and downs.
your age. Years ago retirement was the end of theHence the reason for this book. When you are
road. You would have a party at work, be given apreparing for retirement and the change it brings, it
clock and good wishes from your work colleagueshelps if you are fully prepared for the emotional roller
and be sent off to laze about and do nothing. Therecoaster you may experience.
would be jokes about wishing they too could spend allI want you to know how to transform your life for the
day in bed of in front of the telly and that would be it.better so that you realise and recognise that
You would probably have done exactly that, eaten tooretirement is not the end of the road at all but the
much, maybe drunk too much, exercised too little andopening up of new opportunities.
eventually come to an early end. Not very happy