The Twilight of Usefulness.

[Anthony Marc]

I have a colleague who recently retired from

an administrative position in an Acute Care

Faciltiy. "Early" retirement, I believed, it was called. She did so as an avenue to seek other challenges exterior to the Health

Care area. She was 55 years of age , at the time. She is now 58 years of age and has

decided to seek re-entrance , on a part-time basis or contractural basis, to the Health

Care Arena . She has placed a plethora of

resumes throughout the Health Education and

Health Services domains and has had a significant number of interviews.. all to no

avail. My colleague and I have had many

hours of reflective discussion pertaining to

the outcome of her endeavours for re-entry to the Health Care Sector. We have not defined

any other parameter that could reasonably be

pivotal contributing or causative factors for the outcomes of her deliberations other than

the "age factor". How discouraging, yet how

double standard the reality. Here she is

faced with the probability of age discrimination and being imprisoned by

"double jeporady" (active response to the former ensuring the reality of the latter)resulting in a definitve no re-entry outcome. Did she reach that

age of "Twilight of Usefulness" when she accepted early re-tirement? I don't know,but

it sure appears so. How effective are those who remain in the system and who are at one and the same time 55 and beyond. Surely they would not adjudicate themselves as ineffective or "Twilight" candidates.. would they? And , if not, why adjudicate a 55 years of age re-tireee as such? Interesting question , I would say.

[This message has been edited by Anthony Marc (edited December 21, 1999).]