Life After Patient Care

The arc of a career in medicine will take many turns, some planned and others unexpected.  

I’ve had the privilege of practicing medicine for 26 years. The time flew by in the proverbial “blink of an eye.” I am still relatively young and my years of experience in a sense put me in what could be the prime of my career.

Why, then, did I decide to leave clinical practice?

I’ve already alluded to a significant reason, which is that time flies by, and with it, so do the moments of your life. With aging often comes an awareness that our remaining time becomes more precious each day and every moment.

Welcome to my new blog! In the coming months, I will share insights gained from my perspective over the years as it pertains to you and me. We must never stop growing and evolving. Our innate curiosity coupled with our common problem-solving mindset likely led us into medicine.

What happens then, as the end of a career approaches? A whole new world opens up!

New opportunities. New contacts and colleagues. The chance to apply what has already been learned to new situations. The time to learn new skills and continue personal and professional growth beyond what was never imagined.

I will be covering a myriad of topics as things evolve, and I suspect you’ll find a number of them to be relevant to your situation. Please accept this invitation for some fun, introspection and more. Enjoy the ride with your new wingman!

Dr. Desmond Bell is the Founder and President of “The Save A Leg, Save A Life” Foundation, a multidisciplinary non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction in lower extremity amputations and improving wound healing outcomes through education, evidence-based methodology and community outreach. He also serves as Chief Medical Officer of Omeza, an evidence-based medical technology company and consumer healthcare products company initially focused on healing chronic wounds and preventing their recurrence. In 2020, he joined MD Coaches as an Executive Physician Coach, serving as a peer to peer mentor.