06/21/2023    Bob Hatcher, DPM

Maintaining Podiatry License After Retiring

I gave up my NC license 4 years after retiring in
2018, reluctantly I might add, but I think it was
the right decision. There are some good reasons to
keep your license including:
- opportunities to help colleagues who need short-
term assistance with their practices related to
illness, or injury.
- boredom, especially for those who don't have,
other compelling interests to keep them busy. You
might want to do a little work on the side after a
brief period of retirement
- possible community medical service in local free
clinics or foreign mission work. Lots of
possibilities here and most countries do require
an active license
- continued connection with your colleagues and
friends while attending CME meetings.

There are also a few reasons to consider giving up
your license:
- it ain't cheap to keep it.
- it requires you to continue your education
through sometimes expensive seminars, etc. Not a
bad thing.
- and maybe the most compelling, your clinical
skills will diminish no matter how many seminars
you attend. There is a point where you shouldn't
return to practice and you should stop well short
of that. It's not easy to evaluate, or even admit
that, but it is a reality.

Maybe consider keeping your license for a few
years for the former reasons and then release it
for the latter ones.

My very best to "name withheld" in his or her
retirement,

Bob Hatcher, DPM, Raleigh, NC

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