Engaging the Wise
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA
President and CEO, Society of Physician Entrepreneurs, another lousy golfer, terrible cook, friction fixer
Whether you are an emeritus professor or a retired "senior member" of your local medical staff, you have probably fallen off the cliff and might feel like you were put to pasture like a sagging mare. That's a big waste. Many want an encore career.
Given the value of clinical judgement, the aging population and the large numbers of doctors approaching retirement age, we should engage those retirees who are interested, willing and able, by:
1. Creating Emeritus Colleges
2. Matching them to medical students as mentors
3. Offering them opportunities to advise and participate in undergraduate premed programs
4. Working with older patients in advocacy roles
5. Using them as resources for their institutional memory
6. Creating ways for them to practice part or limited time in underserved areas
7. Including them as problem-based-learning preceptors and tutors
8. Creating a service corps in K-12 encouraging interest in STEM majors
9. Helping other doctors who have emotional or substance abuse or professionalism issues.
10. Giving them education and training in digital health technologies so they can serve as "infomediaries" or help fill the gap between the data and the doctor.
With an aging professoriate, institutions and retirees alike have recognized the value of professors’ staying involved. Retired faculty members teach or otherwise offer their years of experience in ways that directly benefit an institution. Emeritus groups can offer tangible perks, like office space, computer-training seminars, and parking privileges, as well as intellectual and social stimulation
Putting the wise to pasture is a bad idea and deprives future generations of an increasingly scarce resource-wisdom.
Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs at www.sopenet.org and a contributor to www.hcplive.com
Co-Founder at Concept2Exit Consulting Group
9 年Arlen, great insight and well stated. NASA has a similar approach called "graybeards" which was articulated to the public around 2003. They realized that as engineers and scientists retired, there was a huge gap in wisdom and experience. So NASA created a way to bring the retiree back as a consultant and to my knowledge it has worked well.
Compliance Specialist and IT, Computer, Internet Enthusiast
9 年Well the wise are not wise if they have no challenge... wouldn't you say?
Physician at JDH, LLC
9 年Spot on with the article, Arlen! Certainly, it is a shame to waste the experience and wisdom present in those individuals.