Grey hair and bald heads predominated in the room at the annual meeting in Las Vegas of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The topic? IS there life after orthopedics? What about after five years? Then what? How does a retired doc avoid the situation of one morning facing a wife who tells him that he is really not welcome to spend the day in her kitchen?
Life After Orthopedics – Where IS It?
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Advice focused on planning—both professional and financial. Retirement planning fell into two categories—the psychological and the financial. Speakers emphasized that the process should be called “transition” not “retirement.”
Speakers emphasized the need to formulate a slow-down plan. A study, now a few years old, found that 40% of retiring orthopedic surgeons said that they were burned out, another 30% were depressed and 28% exhibited low quality of life scores on tests. Self-image, after, retirement, appeared, to be a major problem.
The first step that speakers recommended for doctors who were within a half decade of retirement was to formulate a slow-down plan. They advised aging surgeons to pass on complicated surgeries, to avoid complex revisions, to spend more time watching out for their own health and well-being. Be aware, speakers advised, of the need for mental stimulation. Consider transferring to a non-surgical practice.
To keep them out of their wives’ kitchen, speakers recommended that retired surgeons travel with professional or alumni groups and/or volunteer with organizations such as the World Health Volunteers Overseas. Retiring doctors were advised to realize that they cannot play golf all day and to get a hobby.
A financial planner warned participants of the financial implications of the increasing longevity of the population and the impact of inflation on retirement savings. The bottom line was that doctors approaching retirement should work out a financial plan with a professional advisor because the chances are strong that they will require more money to live in retirement than they have presently anticipated.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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