There are many ways to retire.

According to figures from the ANA, over 500,000 nurses are expected to retire by 2022. That’s a lot of experience exiting the workforce. But, if many of them are like my friends and colleagues, they may “fail retirement,” as one friend put it—she went back to work part-time. Another colleague seems busier than ever and continues to contribute to nursing through writing, teaching, and mentoring. And another said she wanted to do something entirely different, so she works part-time as a realtor and renovates houses. I know many who support their children’s careers by babysitting almost full time. But many don’t think about or prepare for this major change.

A potentially abrupt transition.

The fact is, nursing is an intense profession—whether working in a hospital or community setting or teaching. Most of us are fervent multitaskers, involved in several projects at once. To abruptly move from a fast-paced role to having nothing to do is not an easy transition for many of us.

With our April issue, we debuted a new column called Transitions, aimed at nurses who may be thinking about the next step in their careers and when to leave their present position, either retiring completely or “slowing down.” The new column provides a nice balance to our Transition to Practice column, written for those new to a nursing career.

It’s never too early to begin planning.

Contributing editor and author of this first column, Karen Morin, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, writes:

Retirement changes the way we live our lives. Most people will need to adjust to an altered daily routine, interactions with different people, a modified income, and perhaps a new locale. It’s a process that involves significant emotional and intellectual work over time.

This first article, “Retiring with Intention” (in honor of Nurses Week, it’s free to read until May 12) sums up many of the issues and sets the stage for future columns, which will offer suggestions for continuing in nursing in different roles and describe some career changes of individuals who feel they’ve been successful at navigating the transition to retirement. We’d love to hear your experiences.