I thought I was ready. I had been thinking about it for years. What I had not thought about was how much of me was still in that operating room after I left.
Academy of Senior Surgeons Experiencing Transition
Department of Surgery · University of Toronto
Department of Surgery · University of Toronto
“Discharge planning begins
the day of admission.”
Your surgical retirement is
no different.
A peer community for surgeons at every stage of a career — and for those who share that career with them.
About
It's a conversation, not a committee.
ASSET is a peer-led initiative of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. We are not a regulatory body, a benefits office, or a wellness programme. We are a group of surgeons and colleagues who believe that the transition out of operative practice deserves the same rigour, the same professionalism, and the same dignity as everything else in a surgical career.
Surgery has what other professions rarely do: a hard stop. When a surgeon relinquishes OR privileges, that decision is typically irreversible. Most professions with a hard stop — commercial airline pilots, air traffic controllers, nuclear plant operators — have legally mandated preparation timelines built into the fabric of their careers. Surgeons do not. That gap is not a personal failing. It is a systemic one. ASSET exists to help fill it.
We believe this conversation should be normal, open, and begin on Day One and continue throughout a surgical career. Whether you are a trainee, a surgeon in your prime, or someone who retired last year and is still figuring out what comes next — you belong here.
Self-Assessment
What’s your thinking on this?
Seven questions. No right answers. View a personalised response based on where you are.
1.Have you ever caught yourself wondering what you would do if you weren't operating?
2.Do you know what your practice overhead costs annually — and do you have a plan for winding it down?
3.Has a colleague or family member ever suggested you think about slowing down?
4.Do you have interests outside medicine that genuinely excite you?
5.Have you had a frank conversation with your Surgeon-in-Chief or Division Head about your five-year plan?
6.Do you know what would happen to your hospital privileges if you reduced your operative caseload?
7.If you stopped operating tomorrow, do you have a clear sense of what would give your days meaning?
8.Does the idea of retiring scare you?
Answer all 8 questions to continue.
Stories
All stories →Surgeons who have been here.
Stepping back from the OR gave me time I didn't know I'd lost. I started teaching at a level I never could have managed while operating five days a week.
There's no equivalent of a pilot's mandatory retirement age for surgeons. Nothing forces the conversation. That silence is what makes it so hard — and why groups like ASSET matter.
Stories of struggle are as valuable as stories of success — perhaps more so. If you have a story to share, anonymously or otherwise, we want to hear it.
“The best time to plan your exit is when you have no intention of leaving.”
— ASSET founding principle
Explore
Everything ASSET offers.
Understanding the Transition
What makes surgery's hard stop unique — and how other professions have navigated theirs.
Resources
Practical tools: the ASSET guidebook, a practice closure checklist, financial guidance, and more.
Stories
Personal accounts from surgeons who have been through it — successes, struggles, and everything between.
Community & Mentorship
1-to-1 pairing with surgeons who have navigated this before, plus specialty and hospital subgroups.
Private Reflection Space
An AI-assisted, confidential space to think through concerns before you're ready to speak with anyone.
For Surgeons-in-Chief
Practical guidance for having these conversations with senior faculty — including an annual review framework.
ASSET is an initiative of the Department of Surgery, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. The group is open to all surgeons, trainees, family members, and administrators. There are no membership criteria.