Leaving your practice doesn’t have to mean leaving the workforce

So you’ve decided to leave the full time practice of medicine. But are you really ready to retire? Many physicians are finding it difficult to retire after losing a significant portion of their nest eggs to the recession of 2008. Fortunately, your skills are in high demand and there are many opportunities for part time work after retirement. Here are 6 possible jobs for retired doctors.

Locum Tenens Doctor

Serving as a Locum Tenens doctor offers the ability to earn income and enjoy interaction with patients without the full load of time commitments and responsibilities you faced as a full time physician. Locum Tenens is Latin for “hold the place of” and basically means a substitute doctor. You might fill in for physicians on vacation or on maternity leave. These opportunities can be found through staffing agencies.

Consultant

Medical consultants are needed by a wide variety of businesses, from medical device manufacturers to law firms to insurance companies. Of course, you may also choose to consult for a heath care facility, perhaps offering your services to help plan a new facility or new protocols. Working as a consultant typically offers flexibility and a reduced workload while still providing significant income.

Medical Writer or Editor

An excellent job possibility for retired doctors who like to write is to become a medical writer or editor. This kind of work can typically be done part time and from the comfort of your own home. All you need in an internet connection so you can even do this type of work while traveling during retirement.

Virtual Doctor

With so much business already done online, some companies are hoping routine medical visits can follow suit. For example, AmeriDoc.com pairs patients with doctors for virtual consultations over the phone or online for the diagnosis of minor ailments and prescription of non-controlled medications. This type of work can easily be done from home during retirement for extra income.

Teacher

Becoming a teacher can be an excellent way of continuing to engage with the medical field and earn income without the stress and long hours of actually practicing medicine. You might find a job teaching one of the health sciences like biology, anatomy, or physiology or even work as a teacher in a nursing program.

Volunteer

This job option won’t earn you any income, but it can help you find purpose and fulfilment in retirement. Volunteers with medical knowledge are needed in a wide variety of situations, here and abroad. Health Volunteers Overseas is a particularly good starting point for retired doctors wanting to combine travel and charity work. You might be providing care, but you could also volunteer to provide lectures, continuing education workshops, or training seminars for local students.

My Retired Doctor can help you close one chapter of your life and move on to the next by serving as your official records custodian. We can securely store all of your patient records and fulfil patient records requests quickly and confidentially.