Many healthcare leaders have plans and goals for the direction of their career, but fail to think about what comes after.
“The end of your career is not the end of your life,” says William F. “Marty” Martin, PsyD, an ACHE faculty member. According to Martin, healthcare leaders should embrace their inner designer and create the retirement they deserve and desire.
John J. Buckley Jr., FACHE, is an example of a leader who has done exactly that. After serving as a healthcare administrator for more than 40 years—most recently as president and CEO of St. Joseph Health System in Bryan, Texas (now, CHI St. Joseph Health)—Buckely retired in 2009. In this Q&A, Buckley discusses his retirement and offers career advice.
Q: What have you been doing since you retired a decade ago?
A: Well, for the first six months after retiring, I basically did nothing. I spent some time weeding my yard and finishing projects around the house but, after 40 years of pretty intense operations experience, I wanted to totally relax. After those six months, an opportunity presented itself that I didn’t want to pass up. I had been chairing an external advisory board at the Texas A&M School of Public Health when the interim dean at the time asked me if I would be interested in getting more involved with the students. I started volunteering to work with them one day a week and that gradually grew into a nearly full-time role as executive-in-residence.
In addition to my involvement with Texas A&M, I have taken on some consulting work on medical legal cases from time to time. I also do consulting and advising for various community boards, engaging with the Texas Association of Voluntary Hospitals, and I do some work with an organization supporting grant efforts for tax-except organizations. Additionally, I serve as the 2019–¬2020 chairman of the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley.
It has been an interesting ride. The best part about retirement is that—more than ever—I get to pick and choose what I want to do and the organizations with which I want to work.
Q: How did you get involved with consulting work, and what advice do you have for executives interested in pursuing that line of work after they retire?
A: I had done some consulting throughout my career, but I wasn’t interested in setting up a big operation when I retired. Instead, I started dabbling with that work again a few months after retiring. That’s when an old classmate of mine, Arthur S. Shorr, LFACHE, who had been doing medical legal consulting for quite some time and had his own firm, called me with an opportunity to help out. I worked alongside him on some cases and learned about the medical legal review process. Since then, I’ve been able to select which cases I want to take on and have continued to hone my perspectives.
For healthcare executives interested in consulting after they retire, I would suggest tapping into your professional network to find work. That said, my first piece of advice to people who are retiring is to take some time to relax. Douglas D. Hawthorne, LFACHE, told me when he retired from Texas Health Resources, “Jack, it’s not the years, it’s the miles you put on those years.” It was a good reminder to slow down and put the car in park to idle for a while until you figure out what you enjoy and what it is you want to pick up and do.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working with Texas A&M University School of Public Health?
A: I get to work with some really great students and faculty and deans here. I now teach two classes for the residential students and one class for our executive MHA program, and I will be co-teaching a class for Mays Business School this year. It feels great to share the lessons I’ve learned over the course of my career and mentor up-and-comers.
The other thing I enjoy about being involved with Texas A&M is that it is a great way to connect with the local community. I highly encourage healthcare executives who are preparing to or who have already retired to look to their local college—whether it’s a community college or a Division I school. You will find so many great opportunities to get involved through academic organizations and you can build extremely rewarding relationships.
Q: How has your local ACHE Chapter played a role in your professional career?
A: I’ve been affiliated with ACHE since 1966. I’ve served on several ACHE committees, and I’ve been a Regent several times. When I moved to southeast Texas, it was only natural that I get involved with the local chapter. I became a designated Texas A&M representative on the chapter’s board as well as a coordinator for the local program council. After a while, I looked into what other opportunities there were for me at the board level and I got elected as vice chair and then chair of the board.
Ultimately, ACHE has been more than a key part of my career, it has been a key part of my life. I’ve made countless connections through the association, as well as some lifelong friends. My Rolodex is not as big as it used to be, since some of my friends and colleagues have retired or passed on, but I gauge my connection to ACHE and to the healthcare field by looking at how many of the board members I know personally. A few years ago, I attended a Congress on Healthcare Leadership luncheon, and I realized that I only knew one of the board members. That let me know that I had some work to do to reacquaint myself with ACHE and reconnect with the healthcare executive community.
Q: What advice do you have for early or mid-careerists for whom retirement is years away?
A: Be involved in your local community. There are so many boards that need your expertise, talent and leadership—whether you’re an early careerist, mid-careerist or senior leader. Start engaging with local boards, be it a school board, little league club, professional organization, church or community foundation.
I frequently connect to my local community through educational institutions. When I lived in Illinois, I was closely involved with Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. To this day, I serve on an external advisory board for the university, so I get back once or twice a year to attend meetings. I also still have season football tickets that I give to my son and other family members who live nearby. It’s just a great way to stay connected.
Editor’s note: Learn how to plan for your own retirement in the September/October Healthcare Executive column Retirement: The Next Career Phase.