New Book Helps Physicians Navigate the Changing Landscape of Retirement

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) announces the publication of NEXT: Flourishing in the New World of Physician Retirement by Charles R. Stoner, DBA, and Thomas M. Waits, MD, MBA. The book offers physicians a research-based, practically minded guide to a transition that no longer follows a fixed script.

"Retirement used to be a single date circled on a calendar," Stoner says. "For today's physicians, it is a process, one that can stretch over years and demands far more intentionality than our predecessors ever needed."

A Transition Without a Map

For decades, physician retirement followed a predictable model tied to chronological age. That model, the authors argue, no longer holds. Today's physicians — energetic, engaged, and often reluctant to fully disengage from work that has defined their identities — are seeking a different kind of transition, one without an established roadmap.

Grounded in more than a year of research, secondary literature review, and direct interviews with physicians navigating their own retirement decisions, the book combines academic rigor with physician case examples. "I do not want to do what I have done for the last 30 years, but I am in no way done," one physician told the authors — a sentiment the book returns to throughout.

A Guide for Physicians and the Leaders Who Support Them

NEXT: Flourishing in the New World of Physician Retirement is designed for two audiences: physicians themselves, typically ranging in age from their mid-50s to early 70s, who are contemplating or actively navigating retirement; and physician leaders who work alongside colleagues approaching this transition and want to better understand — and support — the psychological and emotional dynamics involved.

Table of Contents

PART 1: THE LANDSCAPE

Chapter 1. Stepping Away: Why So Many Physicians Consider Leaving

Chapter 2. Options: A Jagged New Sense of Normal

Chapter 3. It's Personal: Psychological and Emotional Markers

Chapter 4. Transitions: The Nature of Personal Change

PART 2: THE PLAN

Chapter 5. Timing: Is It Time to Leave?

Chapter 6. Flourish: Thriving in Your Next Stage

Chapter 7. Reaching Ahead: Finding Your Flow and Purpose

Chapter 8. Action: Putting It All Together

Chapter 9. Coda: Questions and Replies

References

About the Authors

Charles R. (Chuck) Stoner, DBA, is professor emeritus of management and leadership at Bradley University and president of Stoner & Associates Consulting. His work over the past decade has focused on healthcare organizations and physician leadership, including coaching relationships with nearly 300 physicians from institutions such as Indiana University Health, OSF Healthcare, and UT MD Anderson. He has authored 14 books, including AAPL's Inspired Physician Leadership and Working with Distressed Physicians, and holds an MBA and doctorate from Florida State University.

Thomas M. Waits, MD, MBA, completed 31 years of practice as an oncologist in 2024, working across physician-owned, multi-specialty, and hospital-owned settings, and developing rural outreach clinics in two states. He has also served as a hospice director and currently works as an oncology case reviewer. He earned his medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, completed his residency at Wake Forest University and fellowship at Vanderbilt University, and holds an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

About the American Association for Physician Leadership

The core philosophy of the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL) is that leadership is learned. AAPL is focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them the organizations they serve. With the goal of improving patient outcomes, workforce wellness, and a refinement of all healthcare delivery, AAPL has remained the only association solely focused on providing professional development, leadership education, and management training exclusively for physicians. Since its founding in 1975, AAPL has empowered more than 300,000 physicians across 35 countries — including CEOs, chief medical officers, and physicians at all levels of healthcare. www.physicianleaders.org 

Contact:
Elliot Jones
[email protected]
(813) 636-2842

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SOURCE American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL)