Retiring was a major change for Robert “Robin” Botnick, PA-C Emeritus, after four decades as a PA, including almost 25 years in orthopedic surgery and 15 in internal medicine. The PA-C Emeritus designation, he said, became a lifeline. 

“I wanted the PA Emeritus because I miss medicine. It’s about keeping my medical mind active,” Botnick said. “I pursued the Emeritus designation to stay connected and involved.” 

The first weeks of retirement were the hardest. The fast pace and high stakes gave way to stillness that surprised him. 

“When you start your day and you walk through your hospital hallways, during the course of that walk 30 or 40 people say, ‘Good morning, Robin.’ Then all of a sudden nothing, when you retire nothing,” Botnick said. “There is a feeling of isolation. You miss the camaraderie of all the people that you have worked with for many years and the interaction that you had with them.” 

The contrast was jarring. 

“As a surgical orthopedic PA, your days are very spontaneous and you are bombarded with many questions regarding patient care, as well as utilizing your many surgical skills,” Botnick said. “Your brain is functioning on a very high level of reasoning and sometimes making life-or-death decisions. Now all of a sudden this high level of functioning stops.”    

That shift, Botnick said, was accompanied by “a whole plethora of emotions.” The most difficult part was losing the ability to help people in the way he once did. 

“Of course there are alternatives to fill in those gaps, but nothing at the level of a practicing PA,” he said. 

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