Moonlighting Friendly Programs

[saiyagirl]

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What ophtho residency programs allow moonlighting?

Thanks in advance for your insight 🙂

 

[orbitsurgMD]

What ophtho residency programs allow moonlighting?

Thanks in advance for your insight 🙂

That is a question you will want to keep to yourself during interviews. Some might see an expression of interest in moonlighting as a less than 110% commitment to your residency field, realities of living costs notwithstanding. I definitely think that neither permission to moonlight nor opportunity to do so should factor in your residency ranking.


No programs promote moonlighting. Some tolerate it by not specifically prohibiting it. That is about as good as it gets. You will need to be at a program where you can obtain a state license with one or two years' residency training. You will also need to be somewhere where there is a market for doctors to work in a doc in the box type job that can offer you a shift you can take. You might scout around the areas you think you will be going to once you have an idea where you will rank/select.

 

[saiyagirl]

Thanks for your reply.

Money has always been a very real issue for me and my family, and moonlighting would help not only my financial situation, but my parents more so, and is a large reason why I want to moonlight.

Another reason is that all that good stuff I'll learn during internship...I'd like more opportunities to keep practicing and learning. I feel that it will only make me a better doctor to continally be exposed to patients in their different settings (I will also be a more tired doctor...but I guess that is the risk I will have to take!).

I do understand the taboo about asking during residency interviews and will be careful not to. And I will take your advice about not having it be a factor in creating my rank list; that being said, it would be nice to at least know if I have the option.

How does one go about finding out whether residents in a particular program are able to moonlight, and any other thoughts on moonlighting as an ophtho resident?

Thank you!

 

[rubensan]

i agree with orbitsurgMD; no program director is going to encourage their residents to moonlight. you will learn good stuff during internship but you will learn even better stuff in ophthalmology residency. unfortunately, you only have 3 years to learn it in. there is a very steep learning curve during the first year of ophthalmology residency. i barely had time to work, take call, make it through most of the BCSC series (ophtho books that you are required to read) and get a project to ARVO while maintaining some semblance of a life this year without moonlighting.

i empathize with your financial concerns but caution you against moonlighting.

Thanks for your reply.

Money has always been a very real issue for me and my family, and moonlighting would help not only my financial situation, but my parents more so, and is a large reason why I want to moonlight.

Another reason is that all that good stuff I'll learn during internship...I'd like more opportunities to keep practicing and learning. I feel that it will only make me a better doctor to continally be exposed to patients in their different settings (I will also be a more tired doctor...but I guess that is the risk I will have to take!).

I do understand the taboo about asking during residency interviews and will be careful not to. And I will take your advice about not having it be a factor in creating my rank list; that being said, it would be nice to at least know if I have the option.

How does one go about finding out whether residents in a particular program are able to moonlight, and any other thoughts on moonlighting as an ophtho resident?

Thank you!

 

[idoc]

I am an ophthalmology resident, and I have made moonlighting work. There are not many opportunities within the field of ophthalmology that are very lucrative, so I decided to perform disability examinations for the state. They pay about $50/per exam, and if you are efficient, you can see up to 25 patients per day. That makes it worthwhile. You will have to check with the program you match into regarding their particular policy, but there is enough time to give up a couple days in a month to moonlight, and still get through residency. Just my $0.02.

 

[schistosomiasis]

It is not a secret that many residents in New York programs work in eyeglasses shops on the weekend. Although my program prohibited it, residents still went ahead and did it. There was one place which was in a so-so neighborhood and kind of a sweatshop, but they paid $400 (in cash, no taxes, under the table) for 6 hours, but you were on your feet all the time. Another place (in a better neighborhood) paid $300 (again in cash) for 6 hours for no more than 10-12 refractions, so you had plenty of time to read the Sunday Times and talk on your cell phone with your friends🙂

Personally, I valued my precious free time more than moonlighting....

 

[Answers]

Saiyagirl-
You may want to check out the following website: www.ama-assn.org/go/freida
It has residency program information posted by program directors. Here is a list of some of the programs that said they do allow moonlighting: Stanford, UMich, UNebraska, UOklahoma, UT Med. Branch Hospital (Galveston), and Texas A&M. Hope that helps!

 

[Toadkiller Dog]

First of all, there are some programs that not only allow moonlighting, they encourage it by having it set up for you. Second, that list above is not at all accurate--I know for sure that some of those programs no longer have moonlighting.

In my interviewing experience, the programs that had sweet moonlighting deals were:
--USF (definitely the best moonlighting deal of any place I interviewed)
--University of Florida
--Indiana U

All of these programs let you see pts at the VA on saturdays for roughly 30-50 bucks a pt.

I think there were a few others but I can't remember. Lastly, I would like to add that ophtho residency is *much* busier than you think it is. You may find that it really isn't worth it to give up your few hours of free time per month for a few hundred bucks.

 

[saiyagirl]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

 

[camross]

hey~ please help me- I am an ophtho res. in ohio and am desperate to do some moonlighting and have turned over lots of rocks! This sounds like a sweet deal though and something I could probably handle.
How did you find out about it?
THANKS!!

 

[camross]

I wrote the one above and was trying to find out about the disability exams for the state-
anyone know anything else available around cleveland?