'Welcome to God's waiting room': A leading doctor reflects on his retirement

Australian Doctor is starting a series on retirement: if you have any ideas on what we should cover please contact [email protected]

There is something vaguely automotive about the word ‘retirement’ — it carries the faint odour of worn-out tyres.

Last century retired teachers in my secondary school returned to teach us physics and chemistry because of staff shortages.

They were known as ‘retreads’. They didn’t last long.

When I retired from