How much should a night shift cost?

[Backpack234]

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In terms of trading with your partners to take your shift. For example, I’m a FT doc at a local CMG shop. We work on average 1 night per month.

But like everyone else, I have reasons to not work nights. And trading them with cash considerations seems like a good idea. I think i read about this on WCI at some point

Question then is, how much cash should be included to trade my night shift for a partners day shift? What’s a reasonable offer?

 

[TeddyBoomBoom]

At my place $500 rarely gets it picked up; $1K almost always does.

So for us, that’s the range.

edit: the above is for a a shift to be picked up, not to be traded. I’m not sure about the dynamic of paying for a night/day trade.

 

[bravotwozero]

1 night shift a month sounds like heaven to me.

 

[Pinner Doc]

the above is for a a shift to be picked up, not to be traded. I’m not sure about the dynamic of paying for a night/day trade.

At our shop, night shifts are paid 1.25 the value of day shifts - seems like a good guideline for trading.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

1 night shift a month sounds like heaven to me.

Me too but nights come with the territory of places with two shifts per day.

 

[EctopicFetus]

Me too but nights come with the territory of places with two shifts per day.

Some places have nocturnists.. even in that set up.

 

[southerndoc]

We're lucky to have 3 full-time nocturnists at my place. I do about 1 night shift every 6 weeks.

 

[suckstobeme]

$500 is definitely not enough. I wouldn't do an extra shift for $750. Probably $1000.

I'm a nocturnist. My differential is $65/hr for 9hr shifts. Nights have changed over the last 10 yes. There's no lull at 3-4am to help you catch up. People want their anxiety driven numbness and chest pain worked up ASAP. Chat GPT told then they might have cancer. Nursing homes are running extremely lean and will jump on any excuse to dump a patient on someone for a few hrs. All the nocturnists in our group are scaling back or going back to days. If our differential doesn't go up soon, I'm cutting back.

Also, my A1c is creeping up.

Pay your nocturnists more.

 

[emergentmd]

10 yrs ago it was $500 for our SDG. Now I would think more like 1K. Agree with Sucktobeme, when I first started 25 yrs ago, slept most of the nights for 2-6 hrs but not anymore.

I never did nights for the $500 and would pay $1500/night to get out when I left 10 yrs ago.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Some places have nocturnists.. even in that set up.

We do but most of us want to work that many nights and I don't think there is group appetite to increase night differential that much more.

 

[Groove]

I'd say probably 1K. 1K under the table roughly translates to $1500 roundabouts by traditional "bonus" standards before taxes so I'd phrase it like that if you are offering it to a colleague so they understand this is tax free money you are offering.

I'm just so pumped about this new gig I'm starting in a couple weeks. I have my first 2 months schedule and have 100% 6a or 9a shifts. I think I have a single 4p shift that second month but that's as close to an overnight as I have to get. I'm kind of hopeful that this new schedule will snap me out of some of my crusty anti-EM burned out mentality.

 

[thegenius]

In terms of trading with your partners to take your shift. For example, I’m a FT doc at a local CMG shop. We work on average 1 night per month.

But like everyone else, I have reasons to not work nights. And trading them with cash considerations seems like a good idea. I think i read about this on WCI at some point

Question then is, how much cash should be included to trade my night shift for a partners day shift? What’s a reasonable offer?

Depends on how badly you want to fill your night shift. If you REALLY want to get out of a night shift, then offer $1K.
I wouldn't do it for $500, but I've been out for 12 years and an extra $500 isn't worth it.
But it might be worth it to a fresh grad.

I wish there was an easy way to auction them off.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Wait you guys actually pay people to work your shifts? I switch with my partners because they're my partners and just take the standard night differential.

 

[Janders]

Wait you guys actually pay people to work your shifts? I switch with my partners because they're my partners and just take the standard night differential.

Well if the night differential is enough you don’t have to pay under the table.

But if it’s weak and you can’t change it…

 

[Brigade4Radiant]

Nights pay $15 extra an hour at my place

 

[emergentmd]

I'd say probably 1K. 1K under the table roughly translates to $1500 roundabouts by traditional "bonus" standards before taxes so I'd phrase it like that if you are offering it to a colleague so they understand this is tax free money you are offering.

I'm just so pumped about this new gig I'm starting in a couple weeks. I have my first 2 months schedule and have 100% 6a or 9a shifts. I think I have a single 4p shift that second month but that's as close to an overnight as I have to get. I'm kind of hopeful that this new schedule will snap me out of some of my crusty anti-EM burned out mentality.

It is life changing. Our old SDG had 6a, 9a, 1p, 3p, 6p, 11p all 8 hr shifts. We have docs who wanted 6p (no stipend) and 11p ($500). So the latest I got out of the ER was around 11pm. I would have gladly increased our 11p stipend to $1500/shift.

 

[watermanMD]

more than 500
less than 2000, probs