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This was a thing when I was a resident. We covered nights and weekends. But then they stopped taking residents because they hired an NP to cover nights and weekends.
 
This is, as with everything, VA site specific, but I imagine quite rare in general. Typically the VA would negotiate with the residency for expectations like night coverage of an ED or being on call. It would be part of the overall contract with the residency and thus an expectation as part of your general training, not something for extra pay. The amount of ongoing paperwork at the VA to maintain individual credentialing for a panel of moonlighters would be untenable in most cases and no, your residency credentialing would be harmful rather than helpful as that is a whole separate thing for trainees. Every VA has a department dedicated solely to trainee credentialing with at least 3 clerical staff for a small facility, it's that ongoing much work.
 
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It's definitely not rare. At three out of four residency programs I'm familiar with, VA moonlighting is the most common place for residents to moonlight.
 
How would someone find this out? Cold calling the VA? I imagine this would take hours.
 
Psych_Resident said:
Is moonlighting at the VA something a resident can do? Might be site-specific, but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing it ... if you have, I'd like to hear what your experience was like.
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Probably, if your program isn't affiliated with one.
 
brazilianpsych said:
How would someone find this out? Cold calling the VA? I imagine this would take hours.
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If you residency is not already affiliated with a VA then I would not recommend even trying this.

Even if it were possible, which I would doubt unless it's set up through you residency, the number of hours, paperwork and background checks it takes just to get hired at a VA would probably make it not worth it.
 
Feel like I'm living in a different world. It was not at all difficult to do this when I was in training (not that many years ago). The credentialing process was much quicker and easier than it was at other places I've done moonlighting.

I'd try searching "Psychiatrist" on USA Jobs. Hopefully there's a job posting in your area. Scroll down and find the "agency contact information." Email that person, saying you're a psychiatrist and are looking to moonlight as the "Psychiatrist On Duty." If there's no job posting in your area, maybe go into a VA physically and try to find who manages the PODs? It's definitely possible without a residency affiliation. We had community doctors and recent graduates (not necessarily from our program) who would pick up shifts.
 
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