Adding and Drawing Value from Later Career Stage Members

Bonnie Spring, PhD, ABPP - Wisdom Council

Late last November, a group of SBM past presidents gathered informally to discuss how the Society could create value for senior career members, while drawing upon their breadth of experience. Some attendees felt acutely aware that our population is aging rapidly, while living longer, working longer, and having a smaller next generation to replace them. Several had experienced downstream effects of these demographic changes in declining college enrollment, pressure toward early retirement, ageism, and generational change in student expectations. Some felt liberated by their life transitions – able to travel freely or pursue a beloved hobby as a new vocation. Others who had carefully reconfigured their lives to improve work-life balance or retire now struggled to find a new social network or funds for conference travel and professional dues. 

Participants were aware that similar conversations at other professional organizations had yielded a variety of outcomes, ranging from peer support groups, to lifetime member or other reduced dues (SBM already has a free emeritus membership), to specific volunteer or advocacy opportunities. But what emerged most strongly from this SBM group was a desire to take action to help others at later career stages. There was consensus that SBM provides excellent and increasing mentorship opportunities for early or mid-career members. On the other hand, the group found few offerings to support the growing number of later career stage members transitioning into or trying to stay afloat in high-level leadership positions, or trying to chart their next developmental step. The isolation in which some senior leaders described needing to make complex, unfamiliar decisions seemed profoundly unfortunate, not only in view of their extensive mentorship contributions, but also their potential, if better supported, to advance the impact of behavioral medicine.

In December, an email asking about interest in mentoring later career colleagues was sent to 22 distinguished SBM members. Apparently, the proposal struck a chord. By early January, 20 of those contacted volunteered enthusiastically.  In mid-January the group met on a very crowded zoom call to  choose and affiliate with consultation topics. By February, these populated a new section of SBM’s Consultation Program website dedicated to Later Stage and Continuing Career Development. The section offers consultation on 8 new topics, each covered by between 7-11 candidate mentors. Topics categorized under Professional/Personal Growth include: transitioning to and from administration, late career job change, board service, coping with ageism, and retirement considerations. Research topics include implementation science, community-based participatory research, and interdisciplinary experience. 

Currently functioning as an informal SBM group, members meet online quarterly to hear a brief presentation and discuss a relevant topic of interest. The first, June session, co-led by SBM Past President Bonnie Spring, PhD, ABPP, and President-Elect Christine Hunter, PhD, ABPP, was about “Exploration of Later Career Stage Developmental Options.” The upcoming September 2024 session, led by SBM past Board member Brad Hesse, PhD, and Past President Jim Sallis, PhD, will cover “Applying interdisciplinary experience to broaden behavioral medicine impact.” In December 2024, SBM Past President Jackie Dunbar-Jacob, PhD, RN, FAAN, and past Board member Sara Knight, PhD, will speak about “Coping with aging, ageism, and mentee generational change.” Closing out the group’s first year in March 2025, SBM past Board member Neil Grunberg, PhD, will lead a discussion about “Board service and activism opportunities.” To join the group or be added to the zoom invitation for a session, please email bspring@northwestern.edu