PALTC23 Conference Recordings FR10 Should I Stay or Should I Go? Retirement Planning for PALTC Clinicians

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Retirement Planning for PALTC Clinicians

Retirement among PALTC clinicians is increasing for a variety of reasons but has received little attention in PALTC organizations. Research suggests that time-sensitive retirement planning is a critical factor in a variety of ways, as it impacts stakeholders in all domains. Given the dearth of geriatricians and clinicians in PALTC available to provide care in the face of a rapidly aging and growing population, attention to retirement planning for those in this group is vitally important. This session is designed to address the topic of retirement, presented by a panel of recently retired AMDA members with diverse backgrounds in geriatrics. This interactive discussion will focus on personal, professional, financial, psychosocial and other issues which factor into decision-making and the strategic planning retirement process from start to finish, as well as a toolkit of resources to assist attendees on their retirement journey.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

  • Discuss the topic of retirement and retirement planning as a developmental milestone for PALTC clinicians.
  • Describe pre and post retirement experiences of four AMDA members from different backgrounds (academic, entrepreneurial, business, PACE post-Covid) who are now retired.
  • Identify two free resources that may be very helpful in approaching the issue of retirement planning.
  • Describe factors influencing PALTC clinicians in their decision to remain in practice or retire.

Daniel Bluestein, MD, MS, CMD-R, AGSF-R

Daniel Bluestein, MD, MS, CMD-R, AGSF-R, has 42 years of experience as an academic Geriatrician and Family Physician. His role includes serving as the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School’s geriatric division director and as core faculty for the American Medical Directors Association core curriculum. Dr. Bluestein has worked with the Virginia Geriatric Education Center, VCU, and other statewide colleagues on Geriatrics training and GWEP grants over the past 15 years. He retired from EVMS as Professor Emeritus in 2019, then joined the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Gerontology as Adjunct Professor in 2020. He is considered a subject matter expert for VCUs ECHO Programs (NH COVID Action Network; Dementia in primary care) and works with other GWEP colleagues on manuscripts concerning academic engagement of retired gerontology/geriatric faculty and other writing projects.

William Hovland, MD, CMD-R

William Hovland, MD, CMD-R, is Founder and former president of Mid Atlantic Long Term Care and Former Board Member of AMDA. Dr. Hovland is Former President of the Virgina AMDA chapter retiring in 2018. He was recruited to be the medical director of my local Skilled facility and ALF in collaboration with a NP in 2020.

Verna Sellers, MD, CMD, MPH

Verna Sellers, MD, CMD, MPH, is a geriatrician with over 25 years PALTC experience. Dr. Sellers has spoken at many annual conferences and has served on AMDA committees for many years.

Pamela Fenstemacher, MD, CMD-R

Pamela Fenstemacher, MD, CMD-R, finished her fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania then pursued her interest in caring for the elderly through teaching, writing, practicing clinical medicine and medical direction. Dr. Fenstemacher began working in the PACE environment in 2011 when she became a medical director of her first LIFE program and continued to work in PACE until 2018 when she retired. She was a faculty member of The Society for PALTC Medicine’s Core Curriculum Committee from January 2005 to December 2020. Since retiring, she has enjoyed her on-going contribution to the medical literature by helping to edit the third edition of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine: A Pocket Guide due to be published in 2023. During retirement, she has also enjoyed volunteering on committees whose focus is on Geriatrics and PALTC. Among the other passions that she continues to pursue in retirement are Figure Skating (Member of a Synchronized skating team), gardening and traveling.

Patricia Bach, PsyD, RN

Patricia Bach, PsyD, RN, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in behavioral medicine, geriatrics, and neuropsychology. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, the California State University at Sacramento, and the California School of Professional Psychology, with internship and fellowship training at Eastern Virginia Medical School and the Kaiser Center for Neuropsychological Services, respectively. Dr. Bach is an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School and serves on AMDA’s Behavioral Health Advisory Council.

  • 1.5 CME
  • 1.5 CMD Management
  • 1.5 MOC

Release Date: 03/29/2023   |   Expiration: 03/01/2026

Credit Statements:

Accreditation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

CME Designation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CMD Credit Hours: This CME activity has been pre-approved by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) for up to 1.5 management hour(s) toward certification or recertification as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in post-acute and long-term care medicine. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit actually spent on the activity.

The CMD Program is administered by the ABPLM. For further information, contact ABPLM at 410-992-3117 or at cmd@paltmed.org.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC): Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.5 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Financial Disclosure Statement:

The Association requires the disclosure of all speaker/faculty/planner’s relevant financial relationships; presence of off-label use of a device or medication; and discussion of any experimental, new or evolving topic prior to each accredited education activity.

If the learner perceives any bias toward a commercial product or service, advocation of unscientific approaches to diagnosis or therapy, or recommendation, treatment, or manners of practicing healthcare that are determined to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients please report this to the Association's staff.


The following speaker(s) disclosed relevant financial relationship(s): 

  • Julie Gammack, MD, CMD (Planner & Speaker): Stockholder: Amarin
  • Kenya Rivas Velasquez, MD, CMD, FAAFP (Planner & Speaker): OptumRx: Stockholder
  • All other planners, speakers, and AMDA staff have no relationships with ineligible companies.

All relevant financial relationships have been identified and mitigated.

Components visible upon registration.