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The transition of leadership within radiology practices is often not a planned replacement process with formal development of potential future leaders. To ensure their ongoing success, however, practices need to develop comprehensive succession plans that include a robust developmental program for potential leaders consisting of mentoring, coaching, structured socialization, 360-degree feedback, developmental stretch assignments, job rotation, and formal education. Succession planning and leadership development will be necessary in the future for a practice to be successful in its business relationships and to be financially viable.

Midcareer job transitions are occurring for many reasons other than individual radiologists' professional performance quality, affability, and desire for geographic change. New causes seem to be related to the present health care environment. All radiologists should be aware of this disruptive change to the profession and of the resources available to help job seekers find new positions.

Successful retirement planning requires a determination of which activities and relationships may replace those associated with the current full-employment position. Next, there must be acceptance of leaving the profession behind. Finally, the individual must determine the specific decisions and actions that must be made to transition to successful retirement in the future. To be successful, the entire process should occur over a period of several years. Alternatively, bridge employment may play a significant role in the transition from full-employment to full-time retirement.

Merely suggesting that radiologists answer the call to bolster and secure the future of their own specialty has not resulted in increased activism. Therefore, the ACR Commission on Human Resources has developed a definition for the concept of citizenship in radiology and explicit descriptions of the activities associated with it. Furthermore, the authors introduce a methodology for the measurement and valuation of individual radiologists' contributions to group practices and to the specialty as a whole. These measures can in turn be used to promote, acknowledge, recognize, and incentivize citizenship activity among radiologists at the local, regional, and national levels.