I was looking for some feedback. My situation is that I am finishing a 3 year independent contracting contract for approximately 25 hours a week. I am currently getting approximately $115 per hour; I receive no benefits and pay my own malpractice insurance. I am Board-Certified and have been very dependable. I am wanting to ask for a reasonable raise once the contract is up. I was considering a 10%-15% increase as this would seem fair especially as I received no raises over the last three years. I also do part-time private practice work for myself from which I receive considerably more but like doing some contract work to break my days up. I work in an area about 30 miles outside of a larger Mid-Atlantic city. Does anyone know what an average raise would be for psychiatrists doing independent contracting? Does anyone know what the general going rate for psychiatric independent contract work in the Mid-Atlantic is ? Thanks.
Reasonable raises
- Thread starter pike73
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2004
- Messages
- 1,921
- Reaction score
- 3,508
How many wRVUs are you bringing in for them?
You can be damn sure your employer knows. I work for the VA, where it's less important and they know. Depending on the honesty your employer though isn't enough, as they can "lose track" when you ask (not really a problem for me, but it's happened to friends.)
It's a good idea to keep track and know at least the general ballpark on your own.
If you know how much billing you are doing, and you know it's higher than your colleagues, you can use that as leverage to ask for more $, particularly if nobody else will do it as well for as cheaply as you do the work. You can target exactly how much more money you should be getting.
You can be damn sure your employer knows. I work for the VA, where it's less important and they know. Depending on the honesty your employer though isn't enough, as they can "lose track" when you ask (not really a problem for me, but it's happened to friends.)
It's a good idea to keep track and know at least the general ballpark on your own.
If you know how much billing you are doing, and you know it's higher than your colleagues, you can use that as leverage to ask for more $, particularly if nobody else will do it as well for as cheaply as you do the work. You can target exactly how much more money you should be getting.
Last edited:
Ultimately, it's your signature that makes the gears of the machine turn - never forget that. If you are getting $115 an hour, but cover your own benefits and pay your own malpractice, then you are grossly underpaid. You should be making closer to $160 an hour. Administrators love to take advantage of physicians.
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2013
- Messages
- 184
- Reaction score
- 28
If you have worked for 3 years without a raise and they want you back, then a 10-15% raise is totally reasonable, Just the general inflation rate and their cost of finding someone else reliable makes it fair.
$115 as independent contractor is like $90-95 as employee, which is like a new psych grads starting salary in the mid atlantic minimum
A physicians salary generally sees an increase 3-5 years after residency anyway, after board certification and a few years as an attending experience. You give them a firm 15% raise request to continue or move on
Most physician "independent contractors" in these gigs are really employees in their roles. But they lose the legal protection that employees have by using the independent contractor title, not too mention paying higher taxes and paying for your own benefits. They also increase their liability by becoming an easy target if any **** should hit the fan at work. If you are someones employee then they would get the blame for any mishap as well usually. But if you are an independent contractor then they can separate themselves from medical malpractice suits
$115 as independent contractor is like $90-95 as employee, which is like a new psych grads starting salary in the mid atlantic minimum
A physicians salary generally sees an increase 3-5 years after residency anyway, after board certification and a few years as an attending experience. You give them a firm 15% raise request to continue or move on
Most physician "independent contractors" in these gigs are really employees in their roles. But they lose the legal protection that employees have by using the independent contractor title, not too mention paying higher taxes and paying for your own benefits. They also increase their liability by becoming an easy target if any **** should hit the fan at work. If you are someones employee then they would get the blame for any mishap as well usually. But if you are an independent contractor then they can separate themselves from medical malpractice suits
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2003
- Messages
- 1,973
- Reaction score
- 854
I agree, grossly underpaid. I'm looking at a locum tenens gig, with malpractice covered, in Connecticut for $130 an hour, and that's for someone who's fresh out of residency, not board certified yet, no "real world" experience yet.
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2013
- Messages
- 123
- Reaction score
- 54
The ER here pays like $130/hour, and that's about $20-$30 shy of the average in the area. Are you contracted to work, even loosely, to a place connected to a university? 'Academia' pays a lot less, but if that's ur thing, you can't compare apples to oranges
