An Alternative to Early Retirement

By Dr. Jessica Wu
Residen

It’s no secret that more physicians than ever are resigning or retiring early. With an already-growing physician shortage in the U.S., why are these doctors choosing to leave medical practice sooner than expected?

While some doctors may decide to retire because they are financially stable or wish to pursue other interests, the most common reason is simply burnout. We all know physician burnout is a massive issue in the medical industry, and it affects those at all stages of their careers.  Doctors are stressed out, and both physically and mentally exhausted for a variety of reasons:

• Doctors are required to perform a staggering amount of administrative duties. Once they’ve finished their long days of seeing patients, physicians then face many additional hours of completing electronic health records. As you may know firsthand, that task alone can be overwhelming.

• Physicians encounter significant roadblocks that hinder their quality of patient care. Bureaucratic red tape, hospital regulations, mandates on the number of patients to see per day— these are all ongoing impediments to delivering the level of care doctors would otherwise choose to provide for their patients. Those barriers also lead to less-than-ideal doctor/patient relationships, doctors’ frustrations, lack of control and independence, and ultimately, feelings of extreme dissatisfaction.

• We can’t deny there is still enormous, ongoing burnout from the intensity and trauma of working—and being overworked—through the pandemic. Doctors put their own wellbeing on the line to tend to patients, and haven’t been able to bounce back from the continued strain.

The Solution

Physicians who would otherwise leave medicine now have an alternative to retirement or resignation. Many doctors still want to see patients and earn an income; just at a reduced, less stressful pace.  Residen allows them to practice fewer hours a week if they so desire, without the finality of retirement.  They set their own schedule and work as few or as many hours as they desire, at an affordable rate and with low overhead.  Without the stress of long-term financial commitments or onerous regulations and mandates, physicians can rediscover the joy and fulfillment of patient care. And we can keep more physicians in medicine to help address the ongoing physician shortage.