How can I make extra money from honorariums / gifts as a resident?

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Entol

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Medscape just sent me a $50 Amazon.com gift card through email. I also get a few offers occasionally that ask me to take a survey because I'm a physician and they'll give me a gift card at the end of it.

How can I cash in on gifts and honorariums as a resident like this? Where do you guys go to find these deals? I certainly don't mind making a junk Gmail account and giving my name to any idiot company who believes that a $100 gift card will change my prescribing practices in any way.

I'd love to find out how other people are using these offers to their advantage. If possible, it'd be just peachy if we could avoid the "it's a slippery slope!" replies to this question. My only regret is that I didn't give Medscape 15 fake email addresses so I could buy few month's work of groceries at Amazon. My hope is that we have a thread of easy deals physicians can get based solely on our degrees so we can start making some extra cash early, especially ones that we can sign up for quickly online.
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It seems like a lot of work for a couple hundred dollars. I'd rather save the same amount by not having a TV (no cable) and no smartphone. That saves $100-$120 per month.
 
Epocrates Honors is another well established program. Most surveys require you to be board-certified in your specialty and in active practice however.
 
There are all sorts of non-clinical ways to make supplemental income. Market research surveys and focus groups only represent a small fraction of what's out there.
 
Has anyone tried http://www.truthoncall.com ?

Looks easy, just reply to text messages. You can get up to 30/month and they pay $10 each. An NPI is required to sign up, so I would think residents would be eligible.
 
They apparently don't update their NPI database frequently. I've had my NPI for a while now, and they still claim they can't find my NPI in their database.
 
JackoB said:
Has anyone tried http://www.truthoncall.com ?

Looks easy, just reply to text messages. You can get up to 30/month and they pay $10 each. An NPI is required to sign up, so I would think residents would be eligible.
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i recall signing up for that but i never got a text yet and it's been many months.i used an NPI number from my last program, and it was accepted, but maybe they know im not there anymore?

u probably make a lot more $$ by moonlighting, if your program allows it.
 
turquoiseblue said:
i recall signing up for that but i never got a text yet and it's been many months.i used an NPI number from my last program, and it was accepted, but maybe they know im not there anymore?
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"How are physicians verified?

Truth On Call physicians can only receive checks at the address that is listed for them in the National Provider Information (NPI) Registry, to ensure they are the physician they say they are. In addition, upon signup physicians are sent a welcome pack at the physical address in the NPI registry. For individuals who select to have their checks sent to charity, the physician at the address provided by the NPI is notified of the donation via snail mail."

and there you have it!
 
anon-y-mouse said:
"How are physicians verified?

Truth On Call physicians can only receive checks at the address that is listed for them in the National Provider Information (NPI) Registry, to ensure they are the physician they say they are. In addition, upon signup physicians are sent a welcome pack at the physical address in the NPI registry. For individuals who select to have their checks sent to charity, the physician at the address provided by the NPI is notified of the donation via snail mail."

and there you have it!
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thanks for the info anon-y-mouse. i just checked my login and i am in their system with my current mailing address. i never saw an sms yet. they emailed me telling me that my account is intact and that they no longer send welcome packets and that they have sent a few texts out (ones I haven't gotten), and that they are currently in the beginning stages and will start texting more. (we'll see about that).

if anyone actually has living proof that this works, do tell, bcuz i have seen no proof at all despite all their claims.
 
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Tic said:
Well you graduate first, then apply through your training program.
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NPI numbers are given in residency....no need to graduate first.
 
gutonc said:
You do need to graduate from med school first. The person asking about how to get an NPI number is listed as a med student.
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sorry about that... i meant u don't have to graduate residency to have an NPI number.
 
Ive made a grand total of $30 from Sermo filling out a survey.

Pickings seem kind of slim out there.
 
Have make about $300 from sermo but that is over the course of ~2yrs. Not much work to get it but obviously isn't that much money over the time.

Epocrates surveys - every once in a while I get paid for one, usually they want people in practice for a certain time though, maybe make $50 here in 2-3 yrs.

Truth on call, signed up 2 yrs ago and never have had a text yet.

Most money is in moonlighting but it starts to suck after awhile and even though the $$ is really good I am getting tired of it and probably won't continue much longer.
 
mdlinx gives out honorariums for filling out surveys every few months or so.....but usually they want ones that grad from residency....go to [email protected]

google "physician survey" or "physician honorarium" and you will find other opportunities to cash in on surveys.
 
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MR1 said:
Have make about $300 from sermo but that is over the course of ~2yrs. Not much work to get it but obviously isn't that much money over the time.

Epocrates surveys - every once in a while I get paid for one, usually they want people in practice for a certain time though, maybe make $50 here in 2-3 yrs.

Truth on call, signed up 2 yrs ago and never have had a text yet.

Most money is in moonlighting but it starts to suck after awhile and even though the $$ is really good I am getting tired of it and probably won't continue much longer.
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yeah i signed up for truth on call like 3 months ago and never received a text either. Has anyone actually had this work? what are they doing with all those npi numbers they are collecting?
 
docdaname said:
yeah i signed up for truth on call like 3 months ago and never received a text either. Has anyone actually had this work? what are they doing with all those npi numbers they are collecting?
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I never bothered with truth-on-call, but as far as NPI numbers go, that's publicly available information. If there was something they could/wanted to do with a bunch of NPI #s, it would be easier to just go here and harvest them directly.
 
DrJosephKim said:
Pickings are slim if you don't know where to look.
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Rather than posting one liners that arent of much help, could you please elaborate on these opportunities that you talk about? And concrete opportunities e.g. links to websites, not just something like "you could do medical writing".
 
By the time you meet the criteria for most of these surveys (years in practice, etc), they are no longer worth your time. I delete most of the surveys I get via email because I can make more $ reading sleep studies or even seeing patients.
The main exception is the survey I got through the mail from the suboxone people every few months while I was prescribing suboxone. That paid big bucks for only a few minutes of time.
 
You could serve on a committee by way of AMA-RFS, AAMC-ORR, or your specialty organization. It probably takes a certain type of personality to want to travel one or more times per year, for a day or longer, to sit in a meeting for the majority of the time you're gone.
 
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waldenwoods said:
You could serve on a committee by way of AMA-RFS, AAMC-ORR, or your specialty organization. It probably takes a certain type of personality to want to travel one or more times per year, for a day or longer, to sit in a meeting for the majority of the time you're gone.
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Pardon the utter ignorance but how does one go about getting on said committee once an attending. Do you have to be elected, or just volunteer...?
 
I signed up for Truth on Call. We can't moonlight in my residency program so I need all the help I can get! Any new ideas for honorariums out there?
 
I've found a decent one ($100-$200/yr). Not too much effort. PM me if you want to know more.
 
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