Is this practice setup possible?

[DLmd]

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I was wondering; has anyone ever heard of an EM physician that practices sports medicine w/ part-time EM during the in season of a certain sport; then full-time EM during the off season? Seems like the ideal practice setup for me, but I don't know whether it even exist.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

As long as people are answering this more specific question I'd like to ask a more general one...

It seems to me that many of my fellow EM interested students with whom I chat have a very idealized (or perhaps stylized) idea of what EM practice is like. That is to say, many people seem to think you can do pretty much whatever you want.

I'm not talking about no nights or weekends here, but more of the "I plan to work from April to October and then spend the winter skiing and ice fishing." Or "I'm going to split the year - half the time in New York and half the time in Nigeria."

I realize EM is a bit more flexible than say, Gen Surg, but am I wrong in thinking that 99.99% of all permanent positions are going to expect you to be "in the saddle" staffing EDs for the whole year except during your vacation weeks?

 

[BeardieDoc]

The answer is it depends, if you are looking for work in a highly competitive or desirable hospital for EM docs they will request a certain number of shifts every month including nights, weekends and holidays. However lets say you are willing to work only part-time as an independent contractor and not commit to any particular group or hospital you could in fact (with a little luck) set your own schedule....as long as you are willing to work nights, weekends and in hospitals that have trouble recruiting physicians......

 

[deleted87716]

I'm not talking about no nights or weekends here, but more of the "I plan to work from April to October and then spend the winter skiing and ice fishing." Or "I'm going to split the year - half the time in New York and half the time in Nigeria."

You could probably do that if you work locum tenens. I can't imagine many full-time gigs letting you take big blocks of vacation like that, unless everyone's doing it.

 

[Apollyon]

You could probably do that if you work locum tenens. I can't imagine many full-time gigs letting you take big blocks of vacation like that, unless everyone's doing it.

The bigger the group, the easier it is (although, as Kent says, it's unlikely), because a group of 35 (especially with younger docs) can absorb it better than a group of 6 or 10. If it's something service-oriented, it might be tolerated better, but, if it's just to make more $$, it virtually won't be (and very likely will be prohibited in your contract - not as a non-compete, but because you won't be fulfilling the commitment).

 

[NinerNiner999]

The key wording there is "full time." Usually a full time contract specifies how many hours you are required to work each year, which would not be possible to fulfill unless you worked every month. That being said, if you choose two part time/seasonal jobs (one in Florida and one in, say Colorado) it is very easy to split your time - and a lot of people do this...