Doing physicals WITHOUT a license?

[localsocal]

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I graduated from a US allopathic med school in 2007. I never went into residency, as I am pursuing other interests. I'm taking Step 3 in a few weeks, in order to finish the Steps and lock-down my scores forever.

I live in New York, which has a 1 year requirement of post-grad training in order to get a license.

Can I do company physicals, OCC physicals, etc? I see it as a good way to earn some cash while I'm pursuing my other interests.

I'm guessing I can't moonlight, right? I'm assuming I'd need a license for that.

Thanks!

 

[howelljolly]

If you are without a license, and you are practicing medicine, then ipso facto you are practicing medicine without a license.

 

[Winged Scapula]

If you are talking about insurance company physicals, believe me those that I have met are NO WHERE near actual physicians and do not have medical licenses. Most of these simply involve someone taking your vitals and reviewing your medical history; it is not practicing medicine.

Otherwise, h-j is right, you can't practice medicine without a license. So moonlighting is out (besides the fact is that most places won't hire you to moonlight as a physician with only a year of residency).

 

[localsocal]

If you are talking about insurance company physicals, believe me those that I have met are NO WHERE near actual physicians and do not have medical licenses. Most of these simply involve someone taking your vitals and reviewing your medical history; it is not practicing medicine.

Otherwise, h-j is right, you can't practice medicine without a license. So moonlighting is out (besides the fact is that most places won't hire you to moonlight as a physician with only a year of residency).

Thank you for the response. But, does this mean that these insurance companies are illegally using unlicensed physicians?

 

[Hernandez]

It does vary state to state a little, but if you completed an Intern year, you can get a license in most states and do some moonlighting with a license. Otherwise, you'll probably be very hard pressed to find anyone willing to pay to do physicals and I'd be concerned about liability issues of doing physicals without a license.

 

[Law2Doc]

Thank you for the response. But, does this mean that these insurance companies are illegally using unlicensed physicians?

Sometimes they do nurses if it's just to collect blood and urine. As far as being an unlicensed MD trying to do this stuff, I'd be really careful. If you hold yourself out as a physician to your employers or patients, you are breaking the law. And your liability risk as an MD (even an unlicensed one) is huge -- if you do a physical and miss a melanoma or something else with dire consequences, you are probably liable, notwithstanding that you did the exam for insurance purposes or that you weren't licensed yet. Since I doubt you will be insured adequately for medical malpractice when doing physicals for a private company, you may be risking financial ruin and the end of your career every time you step into a room with a patient. Moral of the story is that you NEVER do anything involving patient examination unless you are sure you are adequately insured. And as an unlicensed person, you are unlikely to be. So bad idea. I can see this going wrong in so many ways, and I promise you your insurance company employer will distance themselves from you in a minute, stating that you were an independent contractor, that they lacked medical knowledge and were relying on you for that, and that you warranted that you were an MD qualified to do these exams, etc. You will be hosed.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Thank you for the response. But, does this mean that these insurance companies are illegally using unlicensed physicians?

No because you do not need a medical license to take BP or review someone's medical history. My office MA does this without a license and its completely legal.

If you were offering medical advice, doing an intervention, ie, practicing medicine, then you would need a medical license.

The difference is what constitutes practicing medicine. And while what L2D states is true about medical liability, presuming you are taking the job with no more medical training assumed than any other non physician or clinician who performs these jobs, you do not need a license. Whether or not something dire could happen if the patient states that as a physician you should have done something/reported something, etc. even if it was not in your job description is unknown (ie, even if you weren't hired as a physician but you missed something on exam, the patient, in the info recovery phase, could claim that because you did have the training even if you weren't hired to use it).

Long story short - this is not a well paid position and I'd venture that your best bets to make money without a medical license (and the required 1 year GME) are not in medicine. Safer too.

 

[Law2Doc]

And while what L2D states is true about medical liability, presuming you are taking the job with no more medical training assumed than any other non physician or clinician who performs these jobs, you do not need a license. Whether or not something dire could happen if the patient states that as a physician you should have done something/reported something, etc. even if it was not in your job description is unknown (ie, even if you weren't hired as a physician but you missed something on exam, the patient, in the info recovery phase, could claim that because you did have the training even if you weren't hired to use it).

I don't know that you can get the level of insurance you need if you aren't licensed. Once you got the MD you ARE held to a higher standard than that other non physician. Just like I get held to a higher standard every time I sign a contract because I'm a lawyer. I don't get to claim the "I didn't understand defense" because of my credentials. So too medicine. When you get sued, for anything, you are held to the standard of someone with your education level and credentials. It's unfair, perhaps, but that's how the law works. So no, if you do a physical on somebody, miss a melanoma at an early stage, and they take a bad turn and sue you, you will be held to the standard of a physician, not the typical non-physician doing these exams. And you will be SOL.

That's the danger of a professional degree, and not one widely advertised (but well known to lawyers) -- you are accepting a higher standard of liability -- your words and actions suddenly have more import/impact than the average non-professional, and forever from now on, you get held to the standard of what a typical person with your education/training should know/do, not what the typical non-physician who might do the same function might do. You can't put the genie back into this bottle.

 

[dragonfly99]

No you definitely cannot moonlight. No hospital or physician's office would hire you to act as a physician because you cannot get a license. You could work as a medical assistant or something in a doc's office, as long as you don't try to pass yourself off as a doctor.

I do not know what an OCC physical is. In general you cannot work in any clinical position that a physician would have. You could do any job that a nonphysician would be allowed to do (i.e. if someone is allowing someone with no physician's or nursing license to do physicals on people, then in theory you could do it). In general it would be better for an insurance company, etc. to hire a licensed practical nurse, or trained medical assistant, etc. than you (from their point of view). Right now you are just someone who hasn't met the standards of education required to practice your profession (in other words, you haven't done any residency years and don't have a license). I know it's harsh b/c of course you know more than most medical assistants and LPN's, but the point is it's a liability issue for the folks hiring you. I don't know if lawdoc is right or wrong about the increased liability for you as someone with an MD degree in your theoretical job that you want to get (vs. others with your same job but no MD degree).

If you want to do medical stuff while you figure out what to do with your life, you are going to have to do at least 1 year of residency and pass your Step 3. I don't see a way around that.