Late Winter Tetons Storm - May, 2010

Grand Teton National Park, WY

Change and Transition: How They Can Affect You

Change and transition are words that are often used interchangeably. However, they differ in meaning and how their occurrence can affect you.

My personal experience with change and transition illustrates this point.

My Journey’s Lessons

Years ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer and then developed other medical problems. Together they created a change that ended my Plastic Surgery career and triggered my end of career transition. Thankfully, years later I’m cured, renewed and fulfilled in my new career. 

My successful transition did not occur spontaneously. It was the result of sustained, focused and deliberate effort over a period of time.  That effort was directed at a particular envisioned outcome: to experience renewal and fulfillment. The means for achieving that outcome was the the transition process itself.

This illustrates the very purpose...

Shadows in Transition - 2021

Sierra Nevada, NV

Your Path to Preparedness

The End of Career is one of those major life events for which it’s critical to prepare well in advance. 

Early on, you’ll recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you’ll also realize that to achieve a successful Transition you’ll need to devote focused effort over a significant period  of time. These inevitable, initial questions will arise: 

How do I begin? 

What should I do? 

In what order should I do it?

I know that you learned long ago, as I have, that great achievements require great preparation.

The First Step of the Path 

To begin, there are three major concerns for which preparation is essential.

The first of these is to prepare yourself, personally, to enter the next great phase of your life. As you do so, it’s important to keep in mind that your spouse and family, are also going through a...

Sunset Transforms Into Sunrise - 2022

Virgina Range, NV

Plan and Prepare

Change. A constant of life that can provoke feelings of uncertainty, especially when it’s an inevitable, yet unfamiliar change. The kind that looms large in your horizon and is accompanied by significant challenges. 

There are some challenges that minimize feelings of uncertainty by virtue of education, training and devoted effort to a particular achievement. But sometimes, there are events for which it’s very difficult to prepare far in advance.

Timely Training

A relevant example is the end of your career. My experience as a consultant on this and related maters is that there are some physicians who begin to prepare in a timely manner. Then there are others that begin to plan much later than is desirable.

(With the recognition that there are a variety of practice settings, the model described here is that of a solo practitioner, as there are many elements of that which apply to other types of...

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe - 2010

On Visions and Planning for Success

When you begin to think seriously about ending your medical career, you’ll find yourself considering a variety of personal concerns and as well as professional practice matters.

The myriad of concerns that you will have to address will vary significantly according to your type of practice: solo, group or otherwise employed. There will be variations in practice preparation, particularly if you’re in solo practice and want to execute a succession plan, sell to a private equity firm or close your practice. Nevertheless, across the spectrum of practice types, there are some common matters, duties, and tasks that must be accomplished. 

It’s my experience that you’ll need to do more than just learn about the journey you’re about to undertake. Beyond information, you will benefit greatly from creating and implementing a plan that is based on a structured methodology that’s customized...

Mt. Morrison and Convict Lake - 2019

Sierra Nevada, CA

Steps and Phases

The End of Career transition is a process that’s usually lengthy. It’s comprised of several phases that focus on tasks that should be accomplished in a particular sequence, so that each builds upon the previous one.

The most challenging of these phases, primarily for personal reasons, is usually the first. This is when you come to terms with the fact that your career will come to an end. For a variety of reasons, physicians’s reactions will vary widely from joy of anticipation to apprehension and stress.

Regardless of how you perceive this phase of your life, there’s an element of loss that you will probably feel and benefit by coming to terms with it. A very positive perspective is to think of this as what it really is: a transition, rather than a “retirement.” (See previous article on this topic.) The term transition emphasizes its purpose: to experience renewal and...

Aspens in Transition - 2019
Sierra Nevada

Living Purposefully and Fully

To contemplate the passage of time and how you perceive it is a subject of wonder since the beginning of time.

Early humans pondered the coming and going of the sun and moon while keeping warm by a campfire near their cave. In the twenty-first century, we ponder and wonder about the same rhythms of life as we mark time on a digital clock.

The rotation of the earth on its axis that creates day and night is the same now as it was in antiquity.

The rotational march of the earth around the sun that creates the seasons and marks the years, is the same now as it was then.

So it is, that the objective march of time, was and is the same for all of us.

But there are three things that differentiates you and I as individuals:

- How you choose to use the precious time of your life.
- How those choices reflect how you value your time.
- How you perceive the speed at which time passes.

These three factors are very much related....

Adorned with Snow - 2021

Sierra Nevada, NV

A Path Amidst Obstacles

You may be at a time in your life that you find yourself having recurrent thoughts about your future end of career. They will probably range from specific ideas to some that are still vague. You may consider this for awhile and perhaps come to realize that a very long time has gone by without a clear idea of what to do, how or when. Yet, the challenge remains.

You are not alone in this experience. It’s common.

At some point, there will arise from within you a powerful desire to act, to move forward and do what needs to be done to prepare yourself and your practice. Hopefully, it’s not too late to achieve your desired optimal outcome.

What to Do When

Over time, you will be able to reach some conclusions, such as when you want to stop practicing, what do to do afterwards, what to do about your practice and much more. 

You’ll probably realize that the answers are often tentative because...

Aspiring Buds - 2023

Sierra Nevada, NV

 Equilibrium and Fulfillment

It’s a common life experience that sometimes you may have to forgo satisfying a desire in order to commit time, effort and perhaps financial resources to fulfill a necessity.

This is more frequent during your earlier years when life’s responsibilities required such choices. It often meant that wants or desires that you considered non-essential were put off. Perhaps they were never fulfilled, but hopefully, simply deferred and remembered in the well of your memory.

The desire to fulfill a myriad of responsibilities whether at home, work or community, springs forth from the nature of your character. Your cumulative experience and satisfaction derived from meeting your responsibilities further strengthens and develops it. Your focus on various achievements becomes a way of life.

Visions of Change

As you begin to envision life after the end of your career, your perspective about life will evolve. You...

Red Fox Ready for the Opportune - 2013

Grand Teton National Park, WY

The Path Begins With Proactive Planning

When you first start thinking about your End of Career, the initial focus may be naturally on the projected end date. You will then probably contemplate what your life thereafter will be like. Questions will emerge, such as: What will I do? Where will I live?, etc.

Physicians, as well as people from many walks of life, will ponder these questions for a while and find that the answers do not come easily.

The Elusive When

Of the many questions, this the hardest one to develop a clear answer.

Why is that?

Initially, it may seem that, in terms of general planning, it should be pretty straightforward to think of a projected date. However, once you begin to look into what's involved, you’ll discover that your End of Career is a process, not an event…and you will realize that it takes much longer than you thought.

It’s an undertaking that’s unfamiliar with...

Magical Reality - 2021

Sierra Nevada, NV

Language Influences Your Perspective

The end of your career is one of the most significant events of your life. It’s a time when you may feel joy, pride, excitement, grief, regret, uncertainty, and other feelings that are unique to you.

You may be looking forward to this new phase of your life with stressful uncertainty or joyful  anticipation…or perhaps both.  For many, it’s also a time when you may experience a sense of loss of what you are leaving behind. 

An optimistic view is that this is a moment of your life that presents you with the opportunity for ongoing personal achievement that’s manifested as renewal and fulfillment.

Life Lessons

I have experienced some of those feelings and more. 

My life experience includes three lessons and observations.

One, is my own End of Career transition. It was difficult and painful. But it provided me the challenge to grow, evolve and succeed again on...