I signed up to risk my life saving patients. In return, I got a pink slip.
The last six months have been surreal. After COVID-19 started spreading throughout the United States, I spent March and April rolling out protocols and training our urgent care team in combating the spread of the virus. I juggled that with examining patients who came to our clinics with acute illnesses, some of them life-threatening conditions that ultimately required hospitalization.
I thought I was an essential worker, and I was willing to risk my life to administer the care I’d spent years training to provide. But it turns out my job was also at risk. In thanks for my service, I received a furlough in April and a pink slip in June.
As a lead physician assistant for an urgent care department, I never thought my job would be dispensable during a global health disaster. Getting rid of PAs as we face a pandemic is like laying off firefighters when forests are ablaze. But I am hardly alone. As health care workers get publicly celebrated for their heroics, behind the scenes thousands are getting pushed out the door.
Nearly 1.5 million health care workers lost their jobs in a single month this spring. Some positions have begun to reopen, but far from all. That health care jobs are increasingly a casualty of COVID-19 might sound absurd and unjust, but it makes cold-hearted sense given the financial fragility — and focus — of the system. Profits are a major driver of employment decisions, even in an industry that claims to prioritize community health. When patient encounters decreased, it was health care workers who saw their pay, benefits and hours decrease, too.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/voices/i-signed-up-to-risk-my-life-saving-patients-in-return-i-got-a-pink-slip/ar-BB16UmJW?li=BBnb7Kz
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It isn't always "better" to wait till you are 70. 
In my case. I was much better off retiring at 62 and working for myself at a job I enjoyed, rather than working for the "man".
