Late Career: Fostering Physician Well-being Over the Career Life Cycle

Abstract

This manuscript is the fourth chapter in a series of 5 articles exploring the challenges and opportunities experienced by physicians across different career stages. This article focuses on the late-career phase. Late career can be a great career stage characterized by meaning and contribution as well as by preparation. Physicians in this phase hold a tremendous amount of experience and wisdom that they can use to benefit their patients and colleagues. Finishing well and deciding when to leave are also pressing concerns on the mind of many late-career physicians. To successfully navigate this transition, late-career physicians must simultaneously recognize and celebrate what they have accomplished, consider how to optimize meaning in current work, and reflect on their next chapter. Viewing the remaining years in practice as an opportunity for an "encore" and considering the desired focus can be a helpful mind set. Late-career physicians must also consider how they will facilitate the transition of their leadership roles through mentoring and development of colleagues. Finally, preparing well for the next season of life requires attending not only to financial planning but to social, emotional, and relationship planning. Investing in relationships and interests at the beginning of the last career stage can set the stage for a more optimal transition to the retirement phase when that time comes.