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Preparing to retire from surgery: a national survey

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Global Surgical Education - Journal of the Association for Surgical Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

As the US surgical workforce ages, retirement decisions will become a critical education topic. Little is known about how best to facilitate a positive transition away from clinical practice. We performed a national needs assessment to examine how and when surgeons decide to retire and what resources are helpful for successful retirement.

Methods

An electronic 30-item survey was developed with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and emailed in May 2021 to ACS members of the ACS who were ≥ 60 years of age (24,670 Fellows).

Results

The 2904 respondents (12% response rate) were median age 69 years (IQR 65–74), 91% male, and 40% were in private practice. Overall, 47% of respondents planned when they started their careers to retire between ages 65 and 69. Approximately 25% of all respondents retired or planned to retire earlier than expected: 34% at their expected time; 38% later than planned. More than half of the respondents (59%) felt that retirement resources should be available 5–10 years in advance of their planned retirement goal and reported the following formats as most useful: printed resources (61%), workshops/seminars (50%), mentoring by retired surgeons (41%), video resources (32%), and peer support groups (26%). Most respondents were likely to use resources on financial planning (77%) and work alternatives (52%). There was strong interest in continuing professional activities in clinical retirement with 51% expressing interest in mentoring residents and students, 35% in teaching technical skills in simulation centers, and 34% in coaching practicing surgeons.

Conclusion

Retirement planning remains challenging for many surgeons but could potentially be improved with appropriate resources and support. A significant number of surgeons expressed interest in continuing professional activities during retirement and could be invited as surgical educators in academic departments.

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Data availability

Data available on request from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the American College of Surgeons Committee on Professional Opportunities for Senior Surgeons and Ms. Patrice Gabler Blair MPH, Associate Director in the Division of Education of the American College of Surgeons, for assisting with survey development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Roi Anteby, Robert D. Sinyard, Emil R. Petrusa, Andrew L. Warshaw & Roy Phitayakorn

  2. Department of Surgery, The Wexner Medical Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    E. Christopher Ellison

  3. Department of Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Mark I. Aeder

  4. Division of Education, The American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA

    Patricia L. Turner & Ajit K. Sachdeva

  5. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Gerald B. Healy

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  1. Roi Anteby
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  2. E. Christopher Ellison
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  3. Robert D. Sinyard
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  4. Emil R. Petrusa
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  7. Andrew L. Warshaw
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  8. Gerald B. Healy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roi Anteby.

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Ethical approval

The study was approved by the local Institutional Review Board (Protocol #:2020P002602).

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Anteby, R., Ellison, E.C., Sinyard, R.D. et al. Preparing to retire from surgery: a national survey. Global Surg Educ 2, 53 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44186-023-00125-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44186-023-00125-5

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