Spoiler Alert: This is not a story about retirement. It’s really a narrative about career evolution. I understand that for the most part, Change Up stories are about people who leave their primary careers and move on to other interests in their lives. However, there are a good number of us who want to continue our careers in some capacity for as long as we can. For those thinking about how to  do that effectively, my feeling is  that leveraging your professional skills and looking for transformative opportunities at any age will result in wonderful, productive, and sometimes surprising ventures.

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I am a Podiatric surgeon, specializing in reconstructive foot and ankle surgery in children. After having spent 38 years practicing in Los Angeles, my wife and I decided to leave the West Coast and move to the Pinehurst area, which we love. To be honest, however, I was so identified with this subspecialty of podiatric surgical practice nationally that I had some trepidation about leaving my practice. I initially struggled with the common issue which so many of us experience concerning our validity once we’re no longer identified by a principal component of our professional lives. So I sat down and took stock. I assessed what I had accomplished, what skills I was pre-adapted to and focused on activities I’m truly passionate about. While the following detail appears to be a CV about my career, I need to share some background to better explain how I arrived at decisions that shape my current life style and activities.

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Prior to my “retirement,” in addition to my practice, I was (and remain)  President and co-director of Operation Footprint, Inc. (OFP), a humanitarian medical mission organization working internationally to provide free surgical care to indigent children suffering from a variety of conditions of the foot and ankle, and to train local surgeons to treat these pediatric conditions and continue to carry out the organization’s vision. I’ve spent 45 years actively involved with OFP     Furthermore, I’ve long been involved, at the club and district levels, with Rotary International, a key sponsor in helping to cover programs costs, and through which I’ve always been provided the opportunity to make a difference in many areas of community and humanitarian service. For example, I currently chair the district’s Global Grant Committee.   So both organizations are very close to my heart. Additionally, I am Board Certified with   two podiatry specialty boards For one of the two, in my prior capacity as its Examination Chair and later its Executive Director, I acquired many skills that served me well in times of transition, including my “retirement.” We’ll come back to that in a bit. 

 

Ironically, my original career goal was to become a wildlife veterinarian, and not oriented toward human medicine. But, as I was having difficulty in gaining admission to veterinary school, and was unsure of what other path to pursue, I chose to take advantage of another talent that I happened to have. I come from a musical family that began with relatives performing back in the vaudeville days, and a brother who had his songs recorded by well-known artists in the 60s and 70s.  As it happens, I’m a  singer/actor  so it didn’t come as a big shock to my family that I got involved in musical theater professionally after college, which included both “book” shows and cabaret performances (this is relevant to what will follow). While I loved the time I spent on stage,  and was never out of work, I retained a calling to become a surgeon. At that time I acted on a suggestion from a friend who was completing podiatry school to look into the profession for myself.

 

During my surgical residency in the late 1970s, I had an epiphany that my primary interest was pediatric surgery, specifically complex foot and ankle procedures, which ultimately led me to contributing my time to Operation Footprint. After several years participating in surgical missions, I also realized that I loved training other residents, and became heavily involved in helping to structure and manage OFP’s surgical residency training program. Circling back to my musical theater and cabaret backround, my ease with performing for both small and large groups translated well for my lecturing.  So, though not intended or anticipated, one seemingly disparate skillset “cross-trained” me for what became a large part of my career. Thereafter, my involvement with surgical residents and lecturing nationally parlayed into another opportunity in the United States, which was to help develop and administer the American Board of Podiatric Medicine’s board certification exam process. That, in turn, segued into my becoming the organization’s Executive Director, which lasted 21 years. When solicited for my interest in that position, my initial reaction was “Who, me?” I had run a practice but had no administrative experience beyond that. But I agreed to do it for two years to give the organization time to do a thorough executive search for a “real” professional administrator, and I’d then act as a consultant until my replacement took over. Little did I know that I would actually enjoy and had talent in administration work. Likely due to the time I’d spent with Operation Footprint  which included an increase educational seminars on pediatric foot surgery over time, which cross- trained in managing hotel personnel, room blocks, food service, conference space, industry vendors, program content, working with committee personnel, etc. 

 

The same was true with my experience with the American Board of Podiatric Medicine, in which we administered an annual certification examination for hundreds of exam candidates. Much of what I’d done before pre-adapted me for what I got into later, whether I realized it or not.  The same could be true for you.  

 

Fast forward to the present. I’ve had to decide how to pivot professionally and balance it with a fulfilling personal life. At age 72, I’m extremely lucky to still have the required stamina that matches my drive. If you can believe it, post Covid, the now virtual lecture series for Operation Footprint has created even more lecture opportunities for me. The expansion of our surgical locations through the work of some of our younger directors (only in their 50s!) has created more travel time for me internationally. My grant writing experience for Operation Footprint has led to my training and coaching others on grant writing. My experience with lecturing has led to my coaching others in giving presentations, as part of a professional development series locally.  The same skillset, combined with my interest in Scotch whiskey (in moderation!!) has led to my conducting Scotch tastings to raise money for various local charities. By no surprise, I often combine them with a music package to include me and my pianist doing songs from Broadway and the American Songbook. Similarly, I was pre-adapted to become an auctioneer for various charitable events.

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In my spare time, I join my extremely supportive wife Jan and our horses, goats, dogs and cats on our farm in  the Foxfire, NC area, enjoying new friends and social engagements in the Pinehurst area. I still love the theater and perform in local shows and cabaret to raise money to benefit OFP or just for fun.

 

To reiterate, my point in sharing my history with you is to demonstrate that even after certain career passages, you can continue contributing within your field to a great extent and create a professional legacy you’re proud of. You first need to critically assess your strengths and importantly your interests and decide how much you want to take on. Then go from there. It’s a matter of recasting your role – much like a stage production. You may not play the lead, but you’re still on stage, under the lights and utilizing your talents to make an impact all the way to the back row.

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operationfootprint.org

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