Sunday, September 19, 2010

Are you ready for an "encore career?"

I was reading BusinessWeek and there was an article titled, "Baby Boomers' Next Act." Actually, the cover of the issue says "How to Retire Smart." Given that people are now living longer than ever, if you retire at age 65, you could still be alive for 30 years. That wasn't the case back in the 60's and 70's. Advances in modern medicine now allow people to live much longer. A life of pure leisure (and no challenge or stimulation) would be terribly boring for physicians who are used to solving complex problems and being challenged all the time. Physicians may not be as financially stressed to work after retirement, but who wants to be bored all the time?

Who would have thought that retirement means working a second career?

The concept of the "encore career" is defined by Marc Freedman to mean: "later-in-life work that combines income with social impact." Marc Freedman is the founder of the non-profit think tank Civic Ventures in San Francisco.

I'm not close to retirement, but I know many physicians who are. How many of them are preparing for an encore career? Will they continue in clinical medicine, or will they find that it's time to transition to a non-clinical encore career? Given that retiring physicians may be facing the reality of boredom, do they know how to apply their clinical and scientific expertise to pursue a non-clinical career? 

If you've retired, maybe you should begin your encore career journey by joining the Society of Physicians with Non-Clinical Careers. You may meet some people and realize that there are many non-clinical opportunities where you can work part-time, play golf, spend time with the grand kids, and contribute to society by mentoring and teaching.

No comments:

Post a Comment