There is no retirement age for clinical wisdom of doctors

South Africa needs shared stewardship between the government and the growing cohort of retired clinical managers and doctors who can offer their accumulated wisdom and experience

- By Zolile Mlisana

South Africa faces the reality of serious skills shortages in healthcare.

There are many reasons, which need no repetition here. What needs more attention is the parallel reality unfolding quietly alongside it. This is the rich reservoir of senior clinical expertise that is being relegated to lie dormant at the very moment when the system’s demand for judgement, continuity and mentorship is intensifying.

This article proposes strategic recourse with regards to this challenge. It attempts to raise a national stewardship issue between productive citizens and the government - what I call “shared stewardship”.

Across the country, there is a growing cohort of senior clinicians whose professional lives span decades of patient care, crisis navigation, institutional leadership and the development of younger clinicians of all disciplines. Their experience is more than just the volume of service historically rendered, but includes judgement under pressure, ethical tensions and travails, and tacit knowledge that cannot be replicated through protocols or accelerated training.

Much of this expertise unwillingly exits the system rather abruptly, under prescriptive legislation informed by linear thinking. Their capacity does not vanish. Their potential and relevance never expired. Instead, we have just failed as a country, over the years, to design a coherent pathway through which accumulated wisdom can continue to serve beyond formal retirement thresholds.