Lately, I saw a few posts of senior medical officers opting for early retirement at 45 years old. These are doctors who have accumulated a certain set of skills from the experience of working in their respective departments for a very long time. We are not talking about clinical skills but also soft skills which are invaluable in managing a patient’s care plan. In fact, some of my colleagues are also considering the same thing as they approach the golden age.

Why is this happening?

The push factors for medical officers choosing to retire early at 45 years old may include burnout from high-stress work environments and heavy workloads. Additionally, limited opportunities for career advancement or dissatisfaction with the current healthcare system could also contribute to this decision. On the other hand, the pull factors for early retirement may involve a desire for a better work-life balance and the pursuit of alternative career paths or personal interests.

While we in Klinik Kesihatan do not have long working hours (yet), the heavy workload is palpable. There are so many things to do for one patient even if they only come for fever. Opportunistic screening, health promotion counselling and arranging further reviews are one of them. In fact, gone are the days when all the doctor does is sit and talk about the health concern, nowadays there are programmes to run in the community and also at the clinic to supplement these consultations to achieve holistic care of the patient. There are KPIs to achieve. For instance, each medical officer has to arrange 3 IFOBT screenings for their patients monthly. Then, there is DM stuff to sort out, the smears etc. A patient with hypertension is not going to be seen for only that, other aspects of their life need to be explored such as their mental health and cancer risk.

When the ratio of doctor to patient is unequal, the quality of consultations becomes poor because the staff needs to breeze through the numbers of the day to finish on time. Furthermore, instead of one MO being in charge of say, one or two portfolios, there will be a few that will have to shoulder 3 portfolios. A portfolio means being in charge and making sure that every demand of the superiors relating to it is met.

The key to reduce burnout is not the carrot on stick approach, it is to reduce demand and increase support – Adam Grant

Yet, we see increasing demands from the public which are not on par with the resources we have within the ministry. There seems to be less accountability on the patients’ part towards their own health status. It is frustrating to see the reluctance to be compliant with their meds and commit to a healthier lifestyle. Perhaps to teach them a lesson – the fee should be increased from RM1 to RM5 as a start. While some may argue that the less unfortunate may find this burdening – I am telling you the less unfortunate are healthier than the fortunate. It’s the fortunate beings that are taking their health for granted. They’d rather buy a viral RM20 chocolate cake drizzled with ganache than spend it on paracetamol or eye drops from the pharmacy.

The Retirement Plan

I have been calculating my financial commitments per month. Most of it would be paid off by the time I reach the mandatory retirement age. But who would want to wait that long? I know for sure that if I choose to retire early, that would mean living below my means. Taking control of my wants and focusing more on my needs. It is easy to finish RM500,000 in 4 years if you give still live on RM10K permonth. But what if I give myself only RM4K/ month instead? That will include payments for my liabilities and the necessary enjoyments like Spotify and my WordPress account. Then I would need to calculate in the cost of fuel for my car, groceries and self-love activities. I figured that now, while still with an income, is the time for me to prepare my house for retirement. That means getting it repaired as needed, organised, renovated, and buying all the nitty-gritty gadgets and all. So that by the time I retire early, all I will do is maintain the house.

Let’s see if I could retire early by 2028.