General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I retired a little over two years ago and I can honestly tell you this. [View all]3catwoman3
(24,353 posts)...practitioner since January 1976. I was 1 month shy of turning 70. By and large, I don't miss it.
For most of my career, I loved my job. My favorite part was always first time parents, newborns, and young babies. I love to teach and explain, and new parents are usually very eager students.
The advent of electronic medical records in 2013 changed everything. I felt more and more like a data entry clerk, and less and less like a clinician. Then came COVID, and because of COVID, the demand for telemedicine visits. I don't trust telemedicine as far as I could throw my laptop. It is simply not possible to accurately diagnose sick children if they are not right in front of you. Trying to explain to parents how to check for lymph nodes ("If the bump is the size of a mini M&M, we're not worried. If it's the size of a grape, we are." or palpate an abdomen ("If it hurts when you push in, that's not as worrisome as if it hurts when you let go." seemed iffy at best.
I retired 10 weeks before I would have made the 25 year mark at my final job. It had long been a goal to make it to 25 years, but it got to the point where it wasn't enough fun anymore, and doing 10 more weeks seemed like 10 more years.
The other thing I miss is being a trusted authority figure. People came to me for my advice, they listened when I gave it, they thanked me for giving it, they usually followed it, and in follow up visits, they would often tell me how helpful the advice had been.
And, I got paid to give that advice! None of that happens at home. If I suggest something to my husband, it's pretty much a sure bet he will choose to do just the opposite oftener than not.