Giant Sequoias - 2004

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite N. P.

On Visions and Planning for Success

When the time comes that you begin to seriously consider ending your medical career, you will find yourself thinking about a variety of personal and professional concerns as well as matters related to your practice.

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 also be variations in practice preparation, particularly if you are in solo practice and want to execute a succession plan 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 personal experience that you will need more than just knowledge about what’s now unknown about what you are going to embark upon. You will need and greatly benefit from applying a method for planning and executing a successful End...

Exuberant Vision - 2010

Preliminary Steps for Creating a Smooth Transition

Your End of Career Transition will require careful attention to a variety of tasks in order to achieve a smooth Transition. There are five factors that commonly get in the way of achieving that: 

• Lack of awareness of the magnitude of the process.
• The difficulty of knowing when to begin to prepare. 
• What matters must be addressed.
• The order in which tasks should be completed.
• The lack of a structured transition plan. 

The approach to addressing these concerns can be customized for the various practice settings: physicians in solo or group practice and those who are otherwise employed.

The Process of Transition

There’s a common concern that becomes an increasing preoccupation as the questions related to your End of Career Transition increase in number and complexity: it’s an awareness that your transition is not a singular event. It’s a process that is complex and lengthy....

Waves of Joyful Anticipation

New Smyrna Beach, FL - 2008

Plan Now, Prosper Later

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

Early on, you will recognize that the magnitude and scope of the challenge is significant. As a result, you will realize that to achieve a successful Transition you will 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 am confident that you have 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 is important to keep in mind that your spouse and in unique ways, your family, are also going...

Encounter with Destiny - 2010

Rendezvous Mountain

Bridger - Teton National Forest, WY

 Character, Purpose and Leadership

Great, existential challenges have a remarkable way of stimulating different reactions from individuals who have diverse temperaments and personalities. These responses can range from cowering fear to towering bravery. The latter is witnessed in men known for their genuine boldness as well those who have been perceived as quietly meek. 

It is this seemingly outward meekness that is sometimes misunderstood for a quiet, steadfast resolve. 

Who Are These Leaders?

Exemplary leaders may be found at a humble home, small and large businesses, hospitals, churches and government bodies. The list is virtually endless. 

Some have a long record of leadership service; others seem to arise out of nowhere to meet the challenge they are confronted with. Perhaps you, as I, have witnessed these behaviors of individuals in the face of crisis:

• The usually,...

Flowing Amidst Enduring Nature - 2009

Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains N. P.

The Reciprocity of Service and Satisfaction

I have previously discussed the importance of expressing gratitude to those who have had a positive influence on our lives. Our expressions of heartfelt gratitude creates joy for those who have given of themselves for our benefit. It also provides satisfaction to ourselves.

Early Experiences…a Prelude

Early life, while in college, I would visit my high school. It was fun to reminisce fond memories. But my strongest motivation for those visits, was to seek out my teachers and mentors. To simply see them again and more importantly, to express my gratitude to them. I recall very well the great smiles on their radiant faces. 

I learned from those early experiences how gratifying it was to acknowledge those who were an important part of my education and development.

As my years of education and training continued, I had opportunities to teach and...

Kenai Fjords National Park, AK - 2012

The Relationship Between Feeling Relevant and Your Purpose in Life.

The personal feeling of relevance is closely intertwined with the actualization of your potential and more specifically, the fulfillment of your purpose in life.

Perhaps, it is most commonly thought of as a sense of pride in oneself, in part as a result of a lifetime of accomplishments, both personal and professional. This is particularly the case when such accomplishments were attained in the service of others.

The need to feel relevant is an integral element of the human experience. It is a desire that knows no boundaries: age, sex, race, language, geography, occupation or vocation.

It is widely experienced and yet it is ultimately quite personal.

The Companions on My Journey: Purpose and Relevance

My career as a Plastic Surgeon unexpectedly came to an end due to colon cancer and other medical problems. Happily, years later, I am cured, healthy and well.

At that time in my...

Daring Vision

Sentinel Rock, Yosemite National Park - 2008

How the Making of a Photographic Masterpiece Relates to the Creation of Your Future Lifestyle 

Grand art born of great, visionary artists often arises from a spontaneous idea, an image in the mind’s eye.  The evolution of an idea that culminates in a tangible work of art, whether a painting or a photograph of a spectacular landscape, requires a blending of grand vision and the execution of exceptional technique.

Similarly, in order to create a masterpiece that will be your new lifestyle, you must imagine a clear vision of your future before you begin to create it. The path to doing so is to prepare yourself by creating and executing a realistic Post Career Lifestyle Plan that will guide you to making your new life an exuberant reality.

I am, by nature a serious person, yet strive to not take myself too seriously.  Certainly, there are some things in life like faith, family, country, etc. that require...

Sunset or Sunrise?

Florida - 2010

Proactive Planning Will Reveal the Date

For most of you, the end of your career is an event that you really look forward to. It’s a time of joyful anticipation. It’s the opportunity for you to create and begin a new lifestyle. Yet, as it happens with major life events, there are important questions that must be answered. They can be a source of preoccupation.

You know that this is major life event that you are not familiar with. You may also sense that it will probably affect you personally, deeply.

A very common concern is the need to answer the question: “When is the right time to stop practicing?”

What I Know

In the course of my experience consulting and coaching clients on numerous matters related to the End of Career Transition, I have observed that it’s natural to focus on the obvious: the end date. 

What is not so readily apparent are the myriad of matters that must be planned for and accomplished in advance...

Balloon Flower (Pandion haliaetus)

Home, Florida- 2005

The Creation of Order in Your Universe 

I have previously described the End of Career Transition Plan as the third element of a triad of plans that provide a structured, yet flexible approach to executing your End of Career. This customized approach is applicable whether you are a solo practitioner, a member of a group practice or otherwise employed.

It is my hope that your Transition is one that you have initiated of your own volition, that is, a developmental transition. This will allow you to plan well in advance, thereby promoting an optimal Transition experience. This is in contrast to a reactive transition, which is thrust upon you by a sudden, unanticipated change, as I experienced.

Another Kind of Transition

Regardless of how the transition process comes about, once it has begun both types of transition share similarities. There is, however, a major difference: in the case of a reactive transition, the timeline that...

The Snake River and the Teton Range - 2008

Grand Teton National Park, WY 

 Change and Transition: How They Can Affect You

Change and transition are words that are often used interchangeably. However, these two words have different meanings and what they describe have distinctly different purposes.

My personal experience with change and transition illustrates this point.

Lessons Learned in My Journey

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 am 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 achieve renewal and experience fulfillment. The means for achieving that outcome was the...