Lance Fogan, MD
Retired 1997
Panorama City Medical Center

I sought a career with a large group practice where I could share call, have fairly regular hours, and have time for family and other activities. In addition, I wanted colleagues close at hand with whom I could share and discuss clinical problems. SCPMG satisfied my expectations.

I joined SCPMG in 1971 following my neurology residency at Case Western Reserve at age thirty-one. An exceptional benefit during my tenure as a Partner was my three sabbatical study leaves in London.

I was Chief of Service at the Panorama City Medical Center in 1997 when I retired. Full-early retirement at age fifty-eight was my best career choice. Its remuneration, and electing the ten-year Common Plan, plus some Per Diem work, created income comparable to full-time work as a Partner. After those benefits ceased, income from my Keogh and 401K contributions then kicked in. I moved these funds into my own IRA. Now I live on my IRA, Social Security, and my paid position as a part-time Los Angeles County employee; I teach neurology to medical students, psychiatry and primary-care residents three to four hours a week at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Being debt-free, married once for forty-six years, living in the same home since 1972, and driving the same 1994 Mercury helps my financial stability.

The first day of my retirement I began building a long-planned wood-working project, happily occupying three leisurely months in my garage workshop. A private literature/writing class each Saturday for the past ten years is intellectually enriching. I am currently searching for an agent/publisher for an epilepsy-related novel that I wrote. I created LanceFogan.com to market this novel. I “blog” and “tweet” to attract readers to my website.

Teaching as UCLA Clinical Professor of Neurology and being part of the department inspires me. My days are happily filled with regular morning gym work-outs, travel, spending time with nearby grandchildren, leisurely reading daily papers, medical journals, attending conferences and occasional civic affairs meetings.

SCPMG was good to me; I was good to SCPMG.