Life after Medicine: A Systematic Review of Studies of Physicians' Adjustment to Retirement

Background: A physician's decision to retire has personal and social consequences. While there has been growing interest in how individuals adjust to retirement, less is known about physicians' adjustment to retirement. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed by searching Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, Ageline, Embase, Health star, ASSA, and PsycINFO databases for peer- reviewed studies published with quantitative and/or qualitative analyses of physicians' adjustment to, satisfaction with, and/or quality of life in retirement. Two independent reviewers performed data abstraction, a quality assessment and an additional reviewer resolved inconsistencies. Content analysis was used to identify and stratify information from selected studies into themes and subthemes. Results: Based on analyses of 12 articles that met the eligibility criteria, it is evident that retirement from medicine was seen as a generally favorable phenomenon. Financial security, favorable health, engagement in activities, and psychosocial well-being were identified as key factors relevant to physician retirement adjustment. Findings suggest that physicians' retirement transitions could be eased by a greater focus on financial planning, implementation of strategies to encourage the development of outside interests, and institutional retirement planning that honors the physician and takes place mid-career or well in advance of retirement.