Leaving Medicine - One Year Later

It has been exactly one year since I retired from medicine. I thought I would look back on the year and reflect on the experience so far.

My work as a Family Physician was tremendously social, and I thrived on that. I was concerned that I would feel isolated or lonely without that intense contact. Surprisingly, that is not true at all. 

I continue to be social, but most often through emails. I would not have predicted that emails could fill a social need, but for me they do. I may go days without leaving our farm, but I never feel isolated.

"Do you miss Medicine?" is a question I hear a lot. It is a reasonable to ask since medicine was such a major part of my life for 28-years.  Not once have I felt a pang of regret about leaving. Don't misunderstand, I loved medicine and greatly enjoyed helping people. However, two things happened:

• Something better came along (a career in art)
• I felt satisfied with the work I had accomplished and did not want to get stale.   

Yes, I feel frustrated with some things in medicine, but that is not why I retired. I do feel a profound sense of disappointment that the US does not offer Universal Health Insurance to all citizens, but that did not make me quit.

So, one year later I can say my wife Lorna was right when she said to me: "It is time to leave medicine now!"