How common is it in the US for clinical practitioners who’ve been attached to a hospital or other medical institution to continue private practice post-retirement?

5 comments

1. Not very. There is a lot of cost that goes into practicing medicine. Private practice isn’t a retirement

2. Not at all. Cant afford the insurance solo. My retirement plan is to move to a country where i can afford health care. Seriously

3. Not common. It’s too expensive and risky to start a private practice *after* retirement. Private practices require a large up front investment and a lot of time, two things that are unwise to expend when you’re older.

   It’s not uncommon for someone in a hospital job to decide they want to open a private practice, but that’s when they’re younger. Also it’s happening a lot less as the medical bureaucracy gets even more bureaucratic.

4. Not common, however it is not too uncommon for physicians to semi retire and continue with a small workload and less hours at an age where many would simply retire.
   Most of these people are workaholics and have trouble just putting down work entirely upon retirement.

5. Private practice is kind of the opposite of retirement. It’s more work, generally, than working as part of a larger institution.