At a congress last year, a radiologist approached me with a pressing personal problem. Aged in her early sixties, she was being forced to retire by her hospital managers and was having trouble coming to terms with the idea of separation from her clinical colleagues. She had worked hard for many years, having very little spare time to spend on hobbies and relationships, and was seeking my advice on how she could fill her new life.
Initially, I was a little surprised by her dilemma. I assumed that after a long and useful career looking after others, she ought to be looking forward to taking things easier and being released from her daily workload. But this was clearly not the case. Retirement filled her with dread, and she could see only a lonely and seemingly unproductive future.
As more of us live longer, this situation is going to become increasingly common. Furthermore, the trend in the U.S. is for radiologists to retire slightly earlier than in the past, according to a survey by the American College of Radiology (AJR 2006;187: 1405-1411), and the same may be happening in parts of Europe.
It is impossible to generalize about how best to cope with any major life change because this will depend upon the individual. It is essential to remember, however, that retirement from work does not necessarily have to mean retirement from life, as the case of Dr. Christian Lauer confirms. He is now building a growing reputation as a professional artist, and his pictures are selling for between €500 and €1000 each. You can read more about him in the imaging news section of this issue.
Others, like our longstanding editorial advisor Prof. Hans Ringertz, choose to remain active within their profession. When he stood down as head of radiology at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, he took on two new posts: visiting professor at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in California and chair of the board at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, Linköping University, in Sweden. A year ago, Ringertz was appointed president of the International Society of Radiology, and the rest of us can only marvel at his enthusiasm and vigor.
These examples illustrate just two of the opportunities open to retiring radiologists. Fear of retirement is natural and understandable, but many people are finding it rewarding. If you would like to share your views on retirement, please contact me at philipward1@btconnect.com.
Finally, I wish my colleagues Brian Bussey and Wanda Schaar a long and happy retirement. They have handled our European advertising sales since the early 1980s and have played a central role in building up this magazine into a strong global entity. It has been an immense pleasure to work with them.
