retired docs

[justwondering]

im not even in residency yet, but im curious if anyone has seen any docs that "retire" then practice medicine on a voluntary basis.

ie, lets say i retire from medicine down the road and decide to work in a free clinic or clinic for the underserved. what do i do abt malpractice insurance if i'm not being paid? do clinics pick up this expense in these situations?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted6669]

im not even in residency yet, but im curious if anyone has seen any docs that "retire" then practice medicine on a voluntary basis.

ie, lets say i retire from medicine down the road and decide to work in a free clinic or clinic for the underserved. what do i do abt malpractice insurance if i'm not being paid? do clinics pick up this expense in these situations?

I volunteer 1 day a month at a free clinic. many of the other providers on staff are retired docs representing essentially every specialty. some are there 1 day a month like me. others are there 3-4 days/week. age range of the retired docs is probably 55-75. the clinic has a grant from the state to cover malpractice for all of us and in fact also pays to keep the licenses and dea #s of the retired docs paid so they can truly volunteer their service for free. it's a beautiful thing.

 

[Miami_med]

im not even in residency yet, but im curious if anyone has seen any docs that "retire" then practice medicine on a voluntary basis.

ie, lets say i retire from medicine down the road and decide to work in a free clinic or clinic for the underserved. what do i do abt malpractice insurance if i'm not being paid? do clinics pick up this expense in these situations?

In some states, free clinics fall under "Good Samaratin" laws, and you are not liable for malpractice. This is state dependent.

 

[deleted87716]

It's possible to continue practicing medicine after retirement, but there are some caveats.

You have to maintain your medical license in active status. The exact requirements for this are state-dependent, but there are usually fees to pay and CME requirements to meet. Depending on how much income your post-retirement work generates, it may or may not be worth it financially. You will probably not choose to maintain board certification after retirement, but this may limit the type of work you are eligible for.

Malpractice coverage is the other big issue, as has been mentioned. With volunteer positions, you can often obtain coverage under an organization's group policy at no charge. With income-generating positions, however, you may have to pay for coverage, including something called "tail coverage" (which covers you after you quit practicing or if you change malpractice carriers...this is required because of the statute of limitations on filing malpractice claims.) Whether or not this makes sense financially is something you'll have to consider.

 

[justwondering]

thanks, everyone. good to know that i wont have to be a candy striper or something. lol.

 

[fpmd]

im not even in residency yet, but im curious if anyone has seen any docs that "retire" then practice medicine on a voluntary basis.

ie, lets say i retire from medicine down the road and decide to work in a free clinic or clinic for the underserved. what do i do abt malpractice insurance if i'm not being paid? do clinics pick up this expense in these situations?

I volunteer at a local clinic in Texas, and the clinic provides malpractice for all activities associated with the patients there. Additionally it is protected under the Good Samaritan law.

 

[deleted87716]

I volunteer at a local clinic in Texas, and the clinic provides malpractice for all activities associated with the patients there. Additionally it is protected under the Good Samaritan law.

For anyone interested, here's a good description of the protection afforded physicians under the Texas Good Samaritan Law: http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=2107 . Other states have similar statutes.