Loving life post residency.. even the 3am bad airways with full stomachs. However I can't help but think that I am selling myself short here. For example my first 120 hours of call per month basically pays about $40 per hour. Keep in minds thats on top of a rather generous base salary and the overall workload is very very light. Once you go over 120 hours the rate bumps to $100 per hour but that equates to maybe 2 calls in a given month. My only other job was 1 week of locums in the midwest managing asa 3 and 4 patients a couple of which barely made it out of the OR... but at $150 per hour and as much overtime as i wanted at $175 per hour it sure made quick work of a couple of big bills. The guys at my practice tell me to keep a low profile my first couple of years out to avoid career damaging malpractice issues but the locums recruiters are waving basically double the money with the added bonus of controlling my own schedule. Anyone with some grey hairs want to weigh in on this? Are there real malpractice numbers out there for tertiary care/university providers vs. community/ambulatory settings? Which is more likely to damage my career.. the 90 year old bring back crani that codes on the table or the healthy 30 year old with appendicitis who's tooth i chip during intubation?
2 months into private practice.. already seeking alternatives
- Thread starter Gasworks
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I'm curious - were you actually working those 120 hours on call? That's 30 hours per week on call, on top of the regular day?
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That sounds like a lot of call. My job, while "safe" and an employee position, has me working, at worst, from 7am-3pm. If I'm pre-call, I'm usually off by noon, sometimes as early as 9am. Call days start at 3pm and end at 7am. I am guaranteed off post-call. Weekends are a different matter...we work Saturday 7am - Monday 7am. Surgeons seem to control the schedule, so we have many semi-urgent cases going on weekends...cystos, closed reductions, etc. On non-weekend call weeks, I probably work 34-40 hours. On weekend call weeks, it's more like 70+. Overall, though, I'm in the high 30s per week. We work hard while we are there, but the hours can't be complained about and, including holiday vacation time, I get 9 wks + 2 extra days off per year. So long as my base stays greater than $300k, I really can't complain. 😀
Cheers,
PMMD
Cheers,
PMMD
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how often are you on call?
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hey pmichaelmd,
seems like you are pretty happy with your group. i will be hunting for a job in Georgia pretty soon. I will be looking at bread and butter gigs. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. You can PM if you like. Thanks.
seems like you are pretty happy with your group. i will be hunting for a job in Georgia pretty soon. I will be looking at bread and butter gigs. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. You can PM if you like. Thanks.
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i hate to say this but MOST people do not stay at their first job...
so lay low - don't complain about anything to anybody, be the first one there and the last one to leave, and always do more than you are supposed to.... because if you do jump ship and need letters of recommendation then this will be crucial
look for other job opportunities that have better income opportunities - if that is what is important to you... I can tell you that more income doesn't necessarily create happiness. I would much rather make less and work in a fun/friendly environment and have my family be happy, than make tons of money in a very miserable job.
so lay low - don't complain about anything to anybody, be the first one there and the last one to leave, and always do more than you are supposed to.... because if you do jump ship and need letters of recommendation then this will be crucial
look for other job opportunities that have better income opportunities - if that is what is important to you... I can tell you that more income doesn't necessarily create happiness. I would much rather make less and work in a fun/friendly environment and have my family be happy, than make tons of money in a very miserable job.
