Six years after operating on his last patient and moving to “function in the world of the healthy,” able to do what a lack of time had previously prevented him from doing, José Amat Vidal, director of the University of Chile Clinical Hospital, Santiago, Chile, reflected in a short essay that the most important thing in life is to be aware that it is divided into stages: “Each stage that ends becomes history; if you are left with the experience, consider yourself satisfied and grateful.”

However, physicians’ individual representations, expectations, and attitudes toward retirement are more complex and vary by country, according to a comparative analysis of three Medscape surveys answered in 2025 by nearly 3000 practitioners of both sexes working in Argentina (645), Brazil (1239), and Mexico (990). The surveys reveal significant differences in planning, financial confidence, and emotional preparation for this life stage.

In Mexico, for example, more than a third of practitioners currently in practice say they plan to retire in their 50s or early 60s — far higher than the 13% in Argentina and 24% in Brazil who say the same. About one fifth plan to practice until age 70 or beyond (Argentina, 20%; Brazil, 18%; and Mexico, 17%), and a notable proportion expect or feel they have no choice but to work past age 80: Argentina (14%), Brazil (17%), and Mexico (9%). Sacrifice and satisfaction from practice are opposing forces that strain the decision: medicine was both a calling and a hobby from which one could make a living, wrote Franco Vitali of Las Varillas, Argentina, who retired at age 78.

Regarding specific plans after leaving practice, Brazilian physicians showed the highest share anticipating full retirement (30%), followed by Mexico (24%) and Argentina (19%). This difference may reflect greater financial security among Brazilian doctors or cultural expectations about retirement in Brazil. About a quarter in all three countries plan to continue practicing medicine part-time. Argentina also shows the highest level of uncertainty about postretirement plans (23%), compared with Brazil (17%) and Mexico (11%).

Like Claudio Suárez Cruzat, a Chilean lung cancer surgeon and former president of the Ibero-American Association of Thoracic Surgery, who after more than 40 years left the profession to focus on literature, or Gabriel Filiberti, an Argentine ear, nose, and throat doctor who decided during the COVID pandemic that he wanted to produce wine, a minority say they plan to switch to a nonmedical career: Argentina (12%), Brazil (14%), and Mexico (15%).

Burnout Drives Retirement

Among those considering retiring or changing careers by their early 60s or sooner, the main motivations are professional burnout — nearly 80% in Argentina — and a desire to spend more time on personal interests and hobbies, roughly 70%-75% across the three countries. Wanting to spend more time with family was chosen by half of the Brazilian respondents who want to retire early compared with 43% in Mexico and 34% in Argentina. The belief that they will have enough resources to live comfortably at that age was cited by 48% of Mexican physicians, far higher than the 18% in Argentina and 30% in Brazil.

A Question of Identity

Why keep working past the late 60s? The expectation of insufficient savings is the most cited reason in Argentina (48%), while in Brazil and Mexico, the dominant motive is the sense that they will still have much to contribute as physicians (60%). About 30% in each country attribute the desire to continue practicing at an advanced age to the “passion” they feel for medicine or the “identity” the profession gives them, although that identity response is more common in Brazil (35%) than in Argentina and Mexico (26%-27%).

When asked whether they believe they will lose part of their identity upon retiring, Argentine responses split roughly evenly between yes and no. “It is my spiritual identity; I feel useful and rewarded,” said a diabetologist in the 70-74 age group who plans to retire at age 80. In Brazil and Mexico, by contrast, almost 60% and 70%, respectively, said they believe their identity will persist beyond clinical practice.

Similar divergences — likely related in part to the preceding question and in part to economic perspectives — appear regarding how they imagine feeling after retirement. In Mexico and Brazil, more than 40% said they expect to feel “good,” and about 10% said they expect to feel “happy.” In Argentina, only 27% and 2%, respectively, project those states of mind.

Thus, it is not surprising that nearly a quarter of respondents in Argentina expect to feel sad after retirement compared with just 13% in Brazil and 14% in Mexico who anticipate that sense of unhappiness or melancholy. Half of Argentine physicians feel somewhat or very confident they will have a full life after medicine compared with more than two thirds in Brazil and Mexico. The article cites a Portuguese-language line from a famous song by Tom Jobim — “Sadness has no end, happiness does” — and notes that doctors in Brazil and Mexico don’t believe that necessarily applies to retirement.

Learning and Travel

Stopping clinical practice does not mean stepping away from medical knowledge. Among the clinical activities they plan to maintain after retiring, 69% of Mexican respondents expect to stay up to date with medical advances, and 47% plan to continue reading medical journals. In Brazil, the corresponding figures are 64% and 34%, while in Argentina they are 56% and 51%, respectively. A substantial share also hopes to remain members of medical societies — 41% in Mexico and just over a quarter in both Argentina and Brazil.

Most respondents were optimistic about their ability to maintain an active lifestyle after retirement, with Mexico again leading at 67% compared with 56% in both Argentina and Brazil. In Mexico, almost a third plan to move to another city or region after retirement, a change of scenery that implies renewed projects vs 24% in Brazil and only 18% in Argentina.

Downsizing to a smaller home may be an attractive option after retirement, a practical adjustment rather than a forced loss of comfort. “Once the children have completed university and left home, the house begins to feel empty, and the convenience of an apartment emerges, which is cheaper since fixed costs for water, electricity, and heating are much lower,” Vidal wrote in his column. However, Mexican optimism reappeared: 2 out of 3 Mexican physicians do not plan to downsize their homes when they leave medical practice compared with 54% in Argentina and 49% in Brazil.

Travel clearly emerges as a priority after leaving medicine, mentioned by 78% of respondents in Argentina, 85% in Brazil, and 81% in Mexico. “They say medicine heals the body, but travel heals the soul,” travel agencies advertise. “Retirement is not the end of the road, but the start of the most anticipated journey!” Leisure activities are also a frequent aspiration in Brazil (78%), followed by Argentina (57%) and Mexico (54%). The expectation of spending time and money dining out is much more common in Brazil (57%) than in Argentina (23%), with Mexico at intermediate levels (36%).

Financial Security Choices

Personal savings appear as the main source of income to support life after retirement in all countries, but with significant variation: 82% of Brazilian doctors say so compared with 73% in Mexico and 63% in Argentina. Expectations are also placed on state pensions or public funds: 64% in Brazil, 58% in Argentina, and 51% in Mexico. About one third expect to rely on selling or renting property, with Brazil the highest at 42%.

Will retirement income cover needs? Most are fully or moderately confident, although in Argentina 1 in 5 say they are not at all confident, and that same response was given by just 8% in Brazil and 4% in Mexico. More than half of respondents in Argentina (56%) feel only somewhat or not at all certain that their families will avoid financial deprivation in retirement compared with 26% in Brazil and 37% in Mexico.

Mexico also leads the ranking of countries where professionals already receive or plan to receive financial assistance to prepare for retirement, at 42% compared to 36% in Brazil and only 22% in Argentina. This is not a superfluous precaution. “Retirement and death are topics frequently avoided because they are considered painful and distant. However, a deep understanding of the retirement stage allows us to change that gloomy perspective and turn it into an even more desirable goal. It is retirement education that will allow us to plan this stage with the same enthusiasm with which we plan a big trip, a sporting challenge, or the organization of our first practice or clinic,” advised Enrique Wolpert-Barraza and colleagues from the ABC Medical Center in Mexico City, Mexico, in the Gaceta Médica de México.

The final question addressed a frequently debated topic: is age a decisive factor for retirement? Opinion in Argentina is evenly divided, while nearly two thirds in Brazil and Mexico agree that age matters. There is also broad consensus that other factors play a role, including individual fitness — 81% in Argentina, 79% in Brazil, and 77% in Mexico — and medical specialty, cited by 59% in Brazil, 56% in Mexico, and 54% in Argentina. The challenge is to identify the right moment so one can leave the profession on one’s own terms rather than be forced out by it. In his essay Vidal warned against the deceit of vanity or self-sufficiency: “Do not let yourself be dazzled by the thought that you are splendid enough to keep operating, because your skills may not be intact.” In a comment on an article in Medscape Medical News, retired US anesthesiologist Richard Nelson recommended, “You should step away from clinical work before your colleagues or patients plead with you to. I think I stopped seeing patients before it was necessary, but that is much better than stopping afterward.”

This story was translated from Medscape’s Spanish edition.