Hospitalist compensation

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Ermundo

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Hello all. I am a fourth year medical student looking into IM. I like IM a lot, and while I might do a fellowship, I'm definitely leaning towards a career as a hospitalist. My question was about $$. Are the hospitalists here happy with what they make? And if not, do you supplement your income? And if so, what do you do to supplement your income (extra shifts/locums work)? I've heard a range of responses from people I've talked to and what I've read on this forum in regards to this topic, and they are pretty conflicting. Money is not THE deciding factor for me, but it is an important one, and I appreciate more information about it. Thank you guys.

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Medscape: Medscape Access

I'm very happy with what I make but its all relative. I've found that the medscape average is pretty spot on for my location in Texas (Austin). The average in my neck of the woods seems to be about $260k. If you pick up extra calls or work a little harder than the average this is easily pushed above 300k. Some of my partners work many extra shifts and make over 400k/year. Many of my colleagues are directors at hospice groups or SNF's and bring in extra cash on the side. One person does expert witness on the side, another has a vitamin nutritional supplement business, another person owns a coffee shop, while another doc has a side business flipping houses. The 14 days off a month can lead to plenty of time for side gigs.

Before medical school I was installing air conditioning ducts and plumbing in houses making $6-7 an hour so my salary seems sweet as hell. It helps that I love general medicine and I actually enjoy the work. If I hated general medicine then my mind would definitely change.

Don't be a hospitalist just for the money. I've been with my current group about a year and have seen 5 people quit since joining who realized that hospital medicine is not for them and changed their mind to go back to fellowship. They were absolutely miserable every day at work and looked depressed. Seems like the pay was definitely not worth it for them. Trust me, dealing with dispo for homeless patients, patients who are 95 years old and want to have a hour long meeting to discuss goals of care, or administration texting you daily pushing for you to get patients out will wear you down if you don't love general medicine.
 
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Medscape: Medscape Access

I'm very happy with what I make but its all relative. I've found that the medscape average is pretty spot on for my location in Texas (Austin). The average in my neck of the woods seems to be about $260k. If you pick up extra calls or work a little harder than the average this is easily pushed above 300k. Some of my partners work many extra shifts and make over 400k/year. Many of my colleagues are directors at hospice groups or SNF's and bring in extra cash on the side. One person does expert witness on the side, another has a vitamin nutritional supplement business, another person owns a coffee shop, while another doc has a side business flipping houses. The 14 days off a month can lead to plenty of time for side gigs.

Before medical school I was installing air conditioning ducts and plumbing in houses making $6-7 an hour so my salary seems sweet as hell. It helps that I love general medicine and I actually enjoy the work. If I hated general medicine then my mind would definitely change.

Don't be a hospitalist just for the money. I've been with my current group about a year and have seen 5 people quit since joining who realized that hospital medicine is not for them and changed their mind to go back to fellowship. They were absolutely miserable every day at work and looked depressed. Seems like the pay was definitely not worth it for them. Trust me, dealing with dispo for homeless patients, patients who are 95 years old and want to have a hour long meeting to discuss goals of care, or administration texting you daily pushing for you to get patients out will wear you down if you don't love general medicine.
Flipping houses on the side sounds fun.
 
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Hello all. I am a fourth year medical student looking into IM. I like IM a lot, and while I might do a fellowship, I'm definitely leaning towards a career as a hospitalist. My question was about $$. Are the hospitalists here happy with what they make? And if not, do you supplement your income? And if so, what do you do to supplement your income (extra shifts/locums work)? I've heard a range of responses from people I've talked to and what I've read on this forum in regards to this topic, and they are pretty conflicting. Money is not THE deciding factor for me, but it is an important one, and I appreciate more information about it. Thank you guys.
This really depends on the market. In my state, you're looking at about 220-250k for a non-academic position or 160-210k for an academic one (I'm in the Northeast). There's some outliers in the 300k+ range, but they usually have high patient loads and work extra shifts.
 
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Happiness is a conscious decision. Say you are happy, and you will be. Remember you can outspend any range of income, and it is pointless to compare yourself to X / Y / Z specialty because their residency may have been longer/shorter, and their workflow more / less brutal.
e.g. Dermatologists may make double what I do - but they see 30-40 patients a day, and are trapped going from room-to-room non stop. I work half the year, see 16-18 patients a day, set my own workflow, and no matter how ****ty my day is - I still have time for coffee, lunch, and to go outside the hospital even for a brief minute.

NYC academic positions pay ~ 160-190K depending on if you want to work nights. Go an hour out to Long Island or NJ and you're starting at 220K for week on / week off day shifts, and another 20K extra for nocturnist work...

To answer your question - yes, I am happy with that.

To supplement my income? I am credentialed as a per diem at a place in upstate NY and a 10 hr shift pays $1500. Money is important given I still have student loans and a mortgage, but I always have buyers remorse working extra days because I have to be away from my wife and kid. So I don't do more than 2 extra shifts a month... The loans/mortgage will pay themselves off eventually. Life is short - and there are no guarantees - so I treasure my time with family.

I use my time off to try to get involved in the tech scene in NY; keeping my ear to the ground and going to meetups. Rather than worrying about earning another $1000 as a physician, I'm trying to get involved with startups as either a physician adviser, or angel investor.

Good luck with your IM endeavors!
 
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Happiness is a conscious decision. Say you are happy, and you will be. Remember you can outspend any range of income, and it is pointless to compare yourself to X / Y / Z specialty because their residency may have been longer/shorter, and their workflow more / less brutal.
e.g. Dermatologists may make double what I do - but they see 30-40 patients a day, and are trapped going from room-to-room non stop. I work half the year, see 16-18 patients a day, set my own workflow, and no matter how ****ty my day is - I still have time for coffee, lunch, and to go outside the hospital even for a brief minute.

NYC academic positions pay ~ 160-190K depending on if you want to work nights. Go an hour out to Long Island or NJ and you're starting at 220K for week on / week off day shifts, and another 20K extra for nocturnist work...

To answer your question - yes, I am happy with that.

To supplement my income? I am credentialed as a per diem at a place in upstate NY and a 10 hr shift pays $1500. Money is important given I still have student loans and a mortgage, but I always have buyers remorse working extra days because I have to be away from my wife and kid. So I don't do more than 2 extra shifts a month... The loans/mortgage will pay themselves off eventually. Life is short - and there are no guarantees - so I treasure my time with family.

I use my time off to try to get involved in the tech scene in NY; keeping my ear to the ground and going to meetups. Rather than worrying about earning another $1000 as a physician, I'm trying to get involved with startups as either a physician adviser, or angel investor.

Good luck with your IM endeavors!

Thank you for the reply! And to you InvestingDoc! These posts gave me some good insight.
 
Thank you for the reply! And to you InvestingDoc! These posts gave me some good insight.

As you are probably figuring out, a lot for salary depends on your location. If you have a choice of where you can live, then do research when you are applying for jobs and pick a city to live in where you'll be happy and make a decent living. In my location, academic start around 150k and more experienced academic hospitalists make around 160k to 200k. Community hospitalists make 190k to 230k including bonus, none make 300k. Most importantly as others have said, do something you like. Don't chase the extra $1000, it's not worth it. Good luck.
 
If you are not tied to a geographic place then you can make decent money.
While the above make good arguments for why money isnt everything its important to consider where it goes and why pay is that way.

Physician pay within the artifice of the physician marketplace still follows supply demand laws along with some artificial constructs that undermine your income.

Academic positions, for example, pay less because you pay for deans fees, directors fees, outreach fees, overhead fees and the lists goes on where pay becomes substantially lower due to these artifices compared to the same work elsewhere.

The northwest historically pays lower for the obvious reason that its very saturated in the dc boston nyc triangle and vicinities.
However, I have another theory. I think they pay less because there is far less competition. Many of the hospital systems are very large. Partners, nyu, weill, upmc etc and competition is not as strong.

Therefore physician salaries suffer.

In the midwest while there are fewer doctors theres also significant more competition per capita. The competition leads to more physician pay.

You can expect to make 270-300 in the midwest near a big city as a hospitalist from what ive been offered and told by friends who accepted contracts
 
My contract straight out of Residency is 260K+Production+Quality.

15 shifts/188 hours a month for 260K aint bad
16 shifts nets you an additional 20K and likely puts you in the production bonus range for another 30K

200 hours a month for 310K

And then quality is another 5$/hr if you hit all your check boxes--so only another 1,000, but that's another 12,000 over the year.
 
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My contract straight out of Residency is 260K+Production+Quality.

15 shifts/188 hours a month for 260K aint bad
16 shifts nets you an additional 20K and likely puts you in the production bonus range for another 30K

200 hours a month for 310K

And then quality is another 5$/hr if you hit all your check boxes--so only another 1,000, but that's another 12,000 over the year.
Production and Quality - what's the best approach the discuss them with your recruiter ?
 
Production and Quality - what's the best approach the discuss them with your recruiter ?

Just ask. The recruiter needs to be your friend in this--they typically benefit if they can deliver you so to speak. You should feel comfortable asking any and everything.

I'd recommend lining up other interviews or at least talking to other hospitals, groups, etc to see what they're offering.

We get an RVU bonus: The first 1200 RVU's are what we're expected to produce per quarter. Everything over that is 15$ per RVU. I've seen 28 patients ONCE. Beyond that it's always been 15-25. In the Winter months, we do 20-25. In the spring/summer we do 15-17. Be sure to get an idea of what their average census is. Ask the recruiter, ask the secretary/coordinator/ whoever handles the billing. If you genuinely see less patients--then the production may be light/non-existent. But the other side to that is you're working less for your salary--which is nice in itself.

You're more likely to get what you want/what is "normal" if you work for a staffing company rather than the hospital directly.
 
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Make sure and ask about turnover. Most hospitalist positions have a pretty active turnover, as lots of people come out of residency and move towards more 9-5 jobs or fellowship. I am part of a large group of 40+ physicians. We lose 5ish every years, but 20 have been here for at last 5 years, and 5 or 6 have been here 10 years. Our census is "only 15-16", but I would say our complexity of floor patients is above average. My pay with quality metrics is about national average, but there is opportunity to make more. 3 of our docs cover a SNF and part of an LTAC, extra moonlighting shifts of various kinds are usually available depending on the month.

One of my buddies worked for a place, worked his butt off, and I'm pretty sure he made over a half million, but that was a terrible place, bad ED, and bad administration. He didn't stay, but he did buy a house with cash when he moved here.
 
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Wow, I haven't been to this site in years but I randomly came back today and so here are my two cents. I graduated from IM last year and my current job is ~150 hours/month, usually 12-15 patients/day, very benign, supportive culture with excellent subspecialty support in a tertiary community hospital in New England. Our shifts are shorter, usually 8.5 hours/day, which means you can still have a life even on your 7 days "on". My pay is around $255k/year which goes up a bit after a few years of experience. It's honestly a pretty sweet gig. I love taking the day at my own pace, spending more time to ponder the more complex interesting patients, breezing through the "NSTEMI awaiting cath" patients or "IVDU endocarditis vanco day #25/9999", chatting with specialists when needed, have a leisurely lunch/coffee break, and I'm usually out of the hospital by 4 PM. I moonlight at a tiny hospital near my house for extra money and to just have a different practice environment, which adds maybe another $70k onto my annual pay.

To be honest, hospital medicine pay is quite good for the type of work we do, if you find a good group. You are never going to be at the top of the heap in terms of pay, but if you find the work interesting and rewarding, the compensation is fair for the work. For 3 years of training you can become an EM attending and make $400k, but look at those guys working their asses off... they see a bajillion patients per day, many of whom are crazy, some of whom are actively dying, and they can't unclench their buttholes for their entire shift.
 
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Wow, I haven't been to this site in years but I randomly came back today and so here are my two cents. I graduated from IM last year and my current job is ~150 hours/month, usually 12-15 patients/day, very benign, supportive culture with excellent subspecialty support in a tertiary community hospital in New England. Our shifts are shorter, usually 8.5 hours/day, which means you can still have a life even on your 7 days "on". My pay is around $255k/year which goes up a bit after a few years of experience. It's honestly a pretty sweet gig. I love taking the day at my own pace, spending more time to ponder the more complex interesting patients, breezing through the "NSTEMI awaiting cath" patients or "IVDU endocarditis vanco day #25/9999", chatting with specialists when needed, have a leisurely lunch/coffee break, and I'm usually out of the hospital by 4 PM. I moonlight at a tiny hospital near my house for extra money and to just have a different practice environment, which adds maybe another $70k onto my annual pay.

To be honest, hospital medicine pay is quite good for the type of work we do, if you find a good group. You are never going to be at the top of the heap in terms of pay, but if you find the work interesting and rewarding, the compensation is fair for the work. For 3 years of training you can become an EM attending and make $400k, but look at those guys working their asses off... they see a bajillion patients per day, many of whom are crazy, some of whom are actively dying, and they can't unclench their buttholes for their entire shift.

It sounds like you have a very good job but that’s also not the norm. Most hospitalists are seeing 16-17 patients a day (not 12-15) and working 12 hr shifts and working 180 hours (7 on/7 off 12 hr shifts) a month. With that said, it’s good to know that there are good, we’ll paying jobs out there for hospitalist such as yours if people look hard enough.
 
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Hello all. I am a fourth year medical student looking into IM. I like IM a lot, and while I might do a fellowship, I'm definitely leaning towards a career as a hospitalist. My question was about $$. Are the hospitalists here happy with what they make? And if not, do you supplement your income? And if so, what do you do to supplement your income (extra shifts/locums work)? I've heard a range of responses from people I've talked to and what I've read on this forum in regards to this topic, and they are pretty conflicting. Money is not THE deciding factor for me, but it is an important one, and I appreciate more information about it. Thank you guys.
I am quite happy.

Able to make >$400 K with plenty of internal moonlighting at my shop.

The money is definitely there in hospitalist medicine right now if you are willing to work hard.
 
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I am quite happy.

Able to make >$400 K with plenty of internal moonlighting at my shop.

The money is definitely there in hospitalist medicine right now if you are willing to work hard.

How common is it for hospitalists to pick up shifts on their week off? What turns me off of the 7/7 schedule is it seems like you're tired and overworked for 7 days, then bored to tears the next 7 days. But if the 7 days on isn't too strenuous, it seems like it would be nice to work the 2 days in the middle of the 7 off week for extra $$.
 
How common is it for hospitalists to pick up shifts on their week off? What turns me off of the 7/7 schedule is it seems like you're tired and overworked for 7 days, then bored to tears the next 7 days. But if the 7 days on isn't too strenuous, it seems like it would be nice to work the 2 days in the middle of the 7 off week for extra $$.

It all depends on your priorities in life. If you want to kick it for your 7 days off you can. If you want to go crazy and make bank, the work and money is definitely out there.
 
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Do you find it easier to work for hospitalist group such as TeamHealth, Sound physician? or to be directly hired from the hospital?

How can I tell if the hospitalist group are malignant or not invested in training their new attending.

All the academic jobs are paying between 175k-225k, but they are 403(B) and eligible for PSLF.

How
To be honest, hospital medicine pay is quite good for the type of work we do, if you find a good group. You are never going to be at the top of the heap in terms of pay, but if you find the work interesting and rewarding, the compensation is fair for the work. For 3 years of training you can become an EM attending and make $400k, but look at those guys working their asses off... they see a bajillion patients per day, many of whom are crazy, some of whom are actively dying, and they can't unclench their buttholes for their entire shift.
 
Hospitalist jobs that are 4 days on and 3 days off... Do they exist?

Our director told us he'd do whatever mix we wanted. We've had 6 that do 7 on 7 off. 3 that filled a spot together by doing splits of 4 and 3.
 
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How common is it for hospitalists to pick up shifts on their week off? What turns me off of the 7/7 schedule is it seems like you're tired and overworked for 7 days, then bored to tears the next 7 days. But if the 7 days on isn't too strenuous, it seems like it would be nice to work the 2 days in the middle of the 7 off week for extra $$.

I go through a staffing company, and pick up shifts at a 2nd Hospital. It's 100% up to me. They e-mail me the openings. I don't feel obligated.

I worked February/March/April. Took may and June off. Working 5 extra shifts this month. I just got back from Vacation, rested and ready to hit it and make some paper.

If I just pick up 2-3 shifts, I usually do it the beginning of the next week--such that I work 9-10 in a row. I prefer to just get it over with. But to each their own.
 
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Do you find it easier to work for hospitalist group such as TeamHealth, Sound physician? or to be directly hired from the hospital?

How can I tell if the hospitalist group are malignant or not invested in training their new attending.

All the academic jobs are paying between 175k-225k, but they are 403(B) and eligible for PSLF.

How

I suspect as time goes, more and more hospitals will hire through staffing companies.

You're going to have frustrations either way. Our group is through a company, but the hospital CMO still pressures us about certain things. The reality is TeamHealth and Sound Physician need to keep hospitals happy to keep the arrangements in place.

When I intereviewed, I interviewed with the Director of our group and the Hospital Admin. I didn't meet staffing Company Admin until 3 months in.
 
Do you find it easier to work for hospitalist group such as TeamHealth, Sound physician? or to be directly hired from the hospital?

How can I tell if the hospitalist group are malignant or not invested in training their new attending.

All the academic jobs are paying between 175k-225k, but they are 403(B) and eligible for PSLF.

How

When I interviewed, they told me they'd like to ease me in, let me get a feel for it. We have two weeks--one week gets a long, helps each other out, and most of the hospital would say they do a better job. The other group is--well, the opposite. They put me on the first week and it's helped me grow/learn.
 
I am a hospitalist as well. I work for a group that has a non-typical schedule. We have hospitalists covering multiple hospitals in the area. We all work random blocks of days. Usually between 4-8 at a time depending on your likes/dislikes. 16 shifts per month if you're full time. We have admitting days and rounding days. We can leave when we're done rounding if we're not the one on call that day. We also have swing shifts to do admissions and cross coverage in the evening and we all take turns filling in those shifts. We don't do nights unless we have a shortage of nocturnists. No codes/procedures. ICU is mostly closed, but we do round there at some of the hospitals. Pay is decent, I think full time docs have 235k base, plus bonus and productivity. 270s-280's is probably typical with bonus. Major mid-western city.
I honestly don't know how anyone could stand doing a 7on/7off schedule. Especially 12 hour days. That sounds absolutely miserable to me. I would suspect groups with that kind of schedule have a higher turn over and more burnout. I would never sign up for that. Maybe I'm spoiled having worked for a group like mine for so long. Think of the logistics there. You'd have to be awake by 5:30am or so every morning to get to work by 7. Then, you wouldn't get home until probably close to 8pm assuming most people have to commute. Then you need to be in bed by 9/9:30 to get a solid 8 hours. That leaves virtually zero time for family, having dinner like a normal person, taking your kids to school, etc. The weeks you work would be like you're not even around. Then you're off for a week with nothing to do? Crazy You can do that as a new attending at the age of 29, but I bet you won't want to do that for long.

IMO the best gig for a hospitalist is to get hired part time like a 0.5FTE or whatever the minimum is for full benefits. Then pick up extra shifts for the same group or a different group (if allowed) and get paid as a locum (which is going to be higher). You can then have the freedom to pick and choose most of your schedule. You'll end up making more and having more control over your life. That's what I do currently. I am an "optional" for my group. I get paid a higher rate on a per shift basis and I can pick and choose how many and which shifts I want. I don't get any benefits other than 401k match, but I don't need them since my wife works and we're on her health insurance. It works quite well for us now because I'm making a lot more money then I was with a full time contract and I'm working fewer "rounding" days. Many of my shifts are swing shifts which are purely admitting. I like it because I don't have to see as many patients per shift and at the end of the shift I'm done with those patients. Kind of like a nocturnist. The only downside is there's no guarantee that I'll get enough shifts to fill my schedule. So far, there's been plenty, but we'll see how it goes.
 
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On the flip side - outpt Medicine 8-3, moonlight in clinic for 8hr, salary + moonlighting + bonus = on track for $290-310k this year. I don’t have to miss my kids soccer games on the weekend. Can inpt moonlight as well which is “round and go” for extra 100-200 RVUs per month - $45/RVU

Lots of opportunity out there- biggest thing with contracts/jobs is they allow/have opportunity for moonlighting within.
 
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On the flip side - outpt Medicine 8-3, moonlight in clinic for 8hr, salary + moonlighting + bonus = on track for $290-310k this year. I don’t have to miss my kids soccer games on the weekend. Can inpt moonlight as well which is “round and go” for extra 100-200 RVUs per month - $45/RVU

Lots of opportunity out there- biggest thing with contracts/jobs is they allow/have opportunity for moonlighting within.
I'm sorry, can you just clarify a few things here? (First year med student here). You work as an IM outpatient PCP at your own clinic 8-3 M-F and moonlight in another clinic for a day? You're making about 310k this way? How do you inpatient moonlight vs outpatient moonlight, if you don't mind me asking?
 
I'm sorry, can you just clarify a few things here? (First year med student here). You work as an IM outpatient PCP at your own clinic 8-3 M-F and moonlight in another clinic for a day? You're making about 310k this way? How do you inpatient moonlight vs outpatient moonlight, if you don't mind me asking?

If you are IM trained you can moonlight anywhere as a hospitalist. I haven’t heard of moonlighting in a PCP clinic but plenty of urgent care gigs
 
If you are IM trained you can moonlight anywhere as a hospitalist. I haven’t heard of moonlighting in a PCP clinic but plenty of urgent care gigs
Don't hospitalists have to work 4 days on or 7 days on - you can supplement outpatient clinic time with just some hospitalist shifts here and there? Like one day at a time? Or do you have to take the full 4 days etc
 
I'm sorry, can you just clarify a few things here? (First year med student here). You work as an IM outpatient PCP at your own clinic 8-3 M-F and moonlight in another clinic for a day? You're making about 310k this way? How do you inpatient moonlight vs outpatient moonlight, if you don't mind me asking?
I work my clinic 8-3, then 2 Saturday’s a month in my own clinic as there are to access issues and need for extra hours outside of nl clinic days (can be like urgent care but chronic management stuff as well). I “round and go” at my local hospital when doing inpt (seeing my own/groups pts). So, typically round on 10-15pts in AM, do clinic and answer pages/discharge orders while seeing clinic pts. Base + moonlighting + bonus = $
 
The only downside is there's no guarantee that I'll get enough shifts to fill my schedule. So far, there's been plenty, but we'll see how it goes.

Just make sure to let your bosses know to give you first dibs on being full time in case they hire more docs and dont have as many PRN shifts to give.
 
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Very informative thread! Is it possible for academic hospitalists to squeeze in extra shifts like their private practice counterparts? I can see the draw to do that for PSLF eligibility while still bringing in a comfortable salary.
 
Very informative thread! Is it possible for academic hospitalists to squeeze in extra shifts like their private practice counterparts? I can see the draw to do that for PSLF eligibility while still bringing in a comfortable salary.
Yes, the academic hosp I trained and then worked for allowed for picking up extra shifts - mostly non-teaching service, weekend or nocturnist shifts.
 
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Loving this thread! I am a recent IM graduate and will be starting as a hospitalist with the Traditional 7on/7off schedule but some 5on/5off weeks mixed it. Ideally these are 12 hour shifts, but it seems once your notes are done and you're not on call or swing admissions you can get out much earlier. Will give updates after I'm a few months in lol
 
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Loving this thread! I am a recent IM graduate and will be starting as a hospitalist with the Traditional 7on/7off schedule but some 5on/5off weeks mixed it. Ideally these are 12 hour shifts, but it seems once your notes are done and you're not on call or swing admissions you can get out much earlier. Will give updates after I'm a few months in lol
What part of the country? Willing to share anything about your compensation?
 
I am 98% certain that I will be a hospitalist when I finish my residency. I'm all for the 7 on and 7 off schedule or something better if I do nocturnist work. I have thought long and hard about a fellowship (I might apply to local CC or pulm/CC programs in my hometown) but realized something along the way... Every where you go, you see physicians pretty much defining their entire lives by their career. There's more to life than your career. I would like to spend my weeks off with my family (wifey is pregnant) and hitting up the dog park. I enjoy dog photography right now (see my avatar), and wouldn't mind buying some super telephotos with the earnings. It's about balance, and pursuing what truly makes you happy.
 
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I am 98% certain that I will be a hospitalist when I finish my residency. I'm all for the 7 on and 7 off schedule or something better if I do nocturnist work. I have thought long and hard about a fellowship (I might apply to local CC or pulm/CC programs in my hometown) but realized something along the way... Every where you go, you see physicians pretty much defining their entire lives by their career. There's more to life than your career. I would like to spend my weeks off with my family (wifey is pregnant) and hitting up the dog park. I enjoy dog photography right now (see my avatar), and wouldn't mind buying some super telephotos with the earnings. It's about balance, and pursuing what truly makes you happy.

Totally agree. While I have been back and forth all throughout medicine residency as to whether a fellowship is for me (still am), after being a hospitalist now for over 2 months (long time I know), I'm HAPPY. I have work at a nonacademic facility with amazing staff, excellent colleagues, responsive hospitalist group, updated facilities, and I am compensated better than most in the U.S. I work, 12h if on long call (sometimes more obviously for patient care), less if short call, round and go if no call. I choose to mix night and days and do mostly nights. I do full-time PRN now, but my group told me anytime I want full time just let them know and they'll convert me; they treat me like I'm full time staff in any case. I made sure to seek out this type of arrangement aggressively after residency and am on track to make considerably more that the average hospitalist- based completely on a schedule of my choosing. I come home and I'm OFF- no reading articles, research, preparing for a presentation, teaching, NONE of that. I can take a day off at a time or 2 weeks off at a time, all depends on how much I want to work. Anything I do work related outside of scheduled hours is 100% my choice. I almost feel like I will wake up and someone will say "GOTCHA", that's how sweet my gig feels sometimes. If fellowship ends up not being in the cards, I wont be unhappy about it. I would recommend hospitalist work to anyone who is considering it, provided you dont settle for the wrong gig. Most of the specialists have it good here too, but some I see work LONG hours, multiple facilities, inpatient consults, procedures, and clinic and may be called when they go home for patient care questions, which is made much worse if they are one of only 2 or 3 same-field specialists at their facility (often they are the only one).
 
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Totally agree. While I have been back and forth all throughout medicine residency as to whether a fellowship is for me (still am), after being a hospitalist now for over 2 months (long time I know), I'm HAPPY. I have work at a nonacademic facility with amazing staff, excellent colleagues, responsive hospitalist group, updated facilities, and I am compensated better than most in the U.S. I work, 12h if on long call (sometimes more obviously for patient care), less if short call, round and go if no call. I choose to mix night and days and do mostly nights. I do full-time PRN now, but my group told me anytime I want full time just let them know and they'll convert me; they treat me like I'm full time staff in any case. I made sure to seek out this type of arrangement aggressively after residency and am on track to make considerably more that the average hospitalist- based completely on a schedule of my choosing. I come home and I'm OFF- no reading articles, research, preparing for a presentation, teaching, NONE of that. I can take a day off at a time or 2 weeks off at a time, all depends on how much I want to work. Anything I do work related outside of scheduled hours is 100% my choice. I almost feel like I will wake up and someone will say "GOTCHA", that's how sweet my gig feels sometimes. If fellowship ends up not being in the cards, I wont be unhappy about it. I would recommend hospitalist work to anyone who is considering it, provided you dont settle for the wrong gig. Most of the specialists have it good here too, but some I see work LONG hours, multiple facilities, inpatient consults, procedures, and clinic and may be called when they go home for patient care questions, which is made much worse if they are one of only 2 or 3 same-field specialists at their facility (often they are the only one).
How do you find a job like that?
 
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Totally agree. While I have been back and forth all throughout medicine residency as to whether a fellowship is for me (still am), after being a hospitalist now for over 2 months (long time I know), I'm HAPPY. I have work at a nonacademic facility with amazing staff, excellent colleagues, responsive hospitalist group, updated facilities, and I am compensated better than most in the U.S. I work, 12h if on long call (sometimes more obviously for patient care), less if short call, round and go if no call. I choose to mix night and days and do mostly nights. I do full-time PRN now, but my group told me anytime I want full time just let them know and they'll convert me; they treat me like I'm full time staff in any case. I made sure to seek out this type of arrangement aggressively after residency and am on track to make considerably more that the average hospitalist- based completely on a schedule of my choosing. I come home and I'm OFF- no reading articles, research, preparing for a presentation, teaching, NONE of that. I can take a day off at a time or 2 weeks off at a time, all depends on how much I want to work. Anything I do work related outside of scheduled hours is 100% my choice. I almost feel like I will wake up and someone will say "GOTCHA", that's how sweet my gig feels sometimes. If fellowship ends up not being in the cards, I wont be unhappy about it. I would recommend hospitalist work to anyone who is considering it, provided you dont settle for the wrong gig. Most of the specialists have it good here too, but some I see work LONG hours, multiple facilities, inpatient consults, procedures, and clinic and may be called when they go home for patient care questions, which is made much worse if they are one of only 2 or 3 same-field specialists at their facility (often they are the only one).

I've been a hospitalist for 7 years now and I just want to make it clear that this job isn't always as rosey as this thread makes it seem. Job security is a big thing I think we need to worry about. We're easily replaceable by mid-levels and I fear that as time goes on, more and more of us will be eliminated for the cheaper mid-level positions. Also, pay cuts are going to be a thing in the future as well. We're expected to see more and more patients per day then in the past as well. Hospitalists are the dumping service of a hospital so we get all kinds of crap from all sorts of places. It can really be a burn out field if you're not careful. Don't go into it expecting it to be a breeze or you might end up disappointed.
Those of you who are competitive for fellowships should strongly consider pursuing those positions. There's a lot more job security when you're a specialist, IMO
 
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hospitalist compensation for week on week off are in the 300k+ range and more rural, close to 340k. many do moonlighting in off weeks and make close to 400k/year. but gotta be careful based on location. burnout is common.
 
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How do you find a job like that?
Believe it or not...it was in one of those annoying emails I got as a PGY3, seemingly "too good to be true". I emailed them back, not really taking them seriously at first, but the group turned out to be very responsive, and there was no stigma about being a resident that was only board eligible. They offered me an interview pretty quickly, but I didn't take until I was sure it met my criteria (flexible, round-and-go, pay differential for nights, closed ICU, nonacademic, decent reputation, among other things), all of which they did. I was offered a job at the end of the interview, which I had no pressure to take, but after weighing other offers, none compared. I love my gig, and hope to be here for a while. My group is very physician centered, the midlevels are very clear in their roles. When/if the midlevel creep and salary cuts become widespread and negatively affect me, I will worry about it then, I'm not going to agonize about that.
 
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Don’t think only about yourself; think about the profession as a whole.
Unpopular opinion/stance, but I have no qualms about leaving medicine (more likely transitioning to another more suitable position) if I become disenchanted. Medicine is a part of my life, not my entire life. Frankly, more physicians should have this outlook, IMHO.
 
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I've been a hospitalist for 7 years now and I just want to make it clear that this job isn't always as rosey as this thread makes it seem. Job security is a big thing I think we need to worry about. We're easily replaceable by mid-levels and I fear that as time goes on, more and more of us will be eliminated for the cheaper mid-level positions. Also, pay cuts are going to be a thing in the future as well.

Pay cuts may well occur but I think job security is fairly good due to Medicare payments taking quality and readmission rates into account. Big hospital system I know was using mid levels for admissions and the midlevels saw basically half as many admissions as the hospitalists and the system was unhappy with the quality metrics. They also clogged up all the consult services by calling endless consults 24 hours a day for help. System ended up just hiring more hospitalists in the end and cutting midlevel pay (mostly by taking away overtime and making them salaried) instead.

Maybe in the future with more AI guidance tools midlevels will be able to handle more complex cases without significantly worsening productivity. But assuming you work at a hospital where case complexity is reasonably high I doubt that midlevels are really as big a threat anymore. When hospital income is tied to quality and LOS and probably eventually how much they spend on specialists it’s going to be financial ruin for health systems to rely on midlevels.

That all said I’m saving more than 50% of our post tax income and investing and plan on retiring before I’m 45. Make the money while we still can before the computers finally become able to take our jobs lol.
 
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