RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 When It’s Time to Retire: Notes From the Afterlife
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 171
OP 174
DO 10.1370/afm.2204
VO 16
IS 2
A1 David Loxterkamp
YR 2018
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/16/2/171.abstract
AB At the end of the Second World War, the US birth rate peaked at nearly 27 births per 1,000 population–a rate unparalleled in the previous 3 decades, and one that would not be repeated. That Boomer generation is now retiring. How do those of us caught in the wave feel about stepping back? Who will step in to replace us? And how will we replace the loss of purpose and fulfillment that comes from a career in medicine? A lengthening life expectancy has challenged many of us to consider the “second act” to our adult life. This essay describes the emotional turbulence of ending one career and contemplating the next.