Moonlighting & OMFS

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DMDtoMD

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Are there any OMFS programs that allow moonlighting?

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I'm a Baylor resident and can tell you that you're strongly encouraged to moonlight while in medical school.
 
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UCLA
Baylor
Columbia
Kentucky

Probably some more...

UCLA does not allow moonlighting anymore because of some feathers that were ruffled some time ago.
 
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Are there any OMFS programs that allow moonlighting?
Oregon all 6 years. Many take a break during gen surg and heavy service months though. Positions passed down to incoming residents each year.
 
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At Louisville we can moonlight after intern year
 
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Baylor moonlighting is only during the med school years.

Not entirely true, just most of us only moonlight during med school because it's so easy/already set up/plenty of time. Historically, others have during general surgery. Reddy is very strict about not doing thirds in the DFW area because he sees it as cutting into our own alumni and peers, that's his only stipulation. Others have driven out of the DFW complex in order to work weekends, and that's fine. You can also moonlight doc-in-a-box after general surgery in DFW if you want. Simply put, most of us don't want to do any of that, those who do also tend to keep it relatively secret, but it's easy enough if you wanted to.
 
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Can anyone touch on
1: how often you can moonlight in these programs (for example, once a week)
2: What does a typical shift look like (for example, holding a pager for 14 hours)
3: what the hourly pay is like
 
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Can anyone touch on
1: how often you can moonlight in these programs (for example, once a week)
2: What does a typical shift look like (for example, holding a pager for 14 hours)
3: what the hourly pay is like

I'll take the dive here, because when I was a dental student these were things I really wanted to know. I'm going to do so anonymously, because reasons. Don't ask what program I'm in or try to figure out which region of the country I'm from. The only identifying information I intend to reveal is that I am in a six-year program. I worked during medical school and stopped working when residency resumed.

1. How often depends on how busy my contemporary rotation was. As a preclinical medical student I worked four or five days per month. As a medical student on clerkships that was reduced to about three times per month. Any day that you do not have an obligation for residency or school, you can work. Having said that, that work needs to be available, which leads me to my next answer.

2. I associated with several different offices. Many offices are not willing to be open on weekends (ancillary staff such as assistants, receptionists, usually demand higher pay) When I moonlit, it was at a private dental office, and not in an urgent care/hospital setting as I assume you were positing your questions. At the office where I did most of my work, my first appointments were at 8 AM and my last appointments were at 4:30 PM. I mostly extracted teeth, all under local anesthesia or nitrous. I did selective expose & bonds, torus removal, implants etc, but 90% of my procedures were extractions, impactions included. I averaged about 35 teeth per day. The most was 71. To some, these numbers may sound ridiculous, but these were typically high-volume, low premium offices. I NEVER claimed to be an oral surgeon. If patients asked, I was honest about my training level, and explained that I was a dentist who almost exclusively extracts teeth. The offices had enough volume that if a patient wanted a referral to an OMFS, it wouldn't dampen the day. I have to note that I was lucky to have this situation and find these offices, and I don't know if this is typical of the resident moonlighting experience.

3. The high-volume, low premium offices would pay 50% of production. Low-volume, high premium offices typically offered between 30-40%. Some offices offer a per-diem and stuff your schedule until your back breaks.
And now for the juicy stuff you've been waiting for: I averaged about $1900/day. The most I made in one day was $5100.

So maybe it sounds like I was rolling in it, but all of that came after paying for equipment, malpractice insurance, licensing exams, applications, licensing itself, implants, etc. Also most 6's don't pay you during medical school, and tuition is getting more ridiculous every year. I still needed loans for medical school when all was said and done, but I would have needed so much more without it.

Now that I'm finished with the questions, I'm going to fulfill my obligation as an internet commenter and hoist myself onto a soapbox for a minute.
Moonlighting was one of the most fulfilling parts of residency. During medical school you take a huge step back in responsibility/social standing. It's nice to be reminded that you're capable of making decisions (and some disposable income) amongst all the med school hoop-jumping. I don't know if I could have retained my hand skills without it, but I came back to residency with skills and confidence that were dramatically improved.

There's too much variety in training programs already, but I would encourage any applicant to consider moonlighting policies as a major factor in his or her decision. Hope this helps.
 
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Can anyone touch on
1: how often you can moonlight in these programs (for example, once a week)
2: What does a typical shift look like (for example, holding a pager for 14 hours)
3: what the hourly pay is like
1.) At Baylor you are expected to moonlight extensively during your time in Medical School at Texas Tech. We do the second and third years of medical school. During your first year of residency (MS2) you work around 30-35 hours a week including both day and night clinic. During your second year (MS3) , you are limited to working only at the night clinic around 3 nights a week after you finish your time at clerkships and one Saturday a month.
2.) A typical shift for day clinic is 8 hours (2 four hour sessions), night clinic is 3 hours. Day clinic is about 70% extractions, 30% exams and fillings. Night clinic is 100% surgery.
3.) $60/hour for day clinic, $90/hour for night clinic

Ultimately, Baylor's moonlighting policy is unique and probably one of the biggest draws to our program. Your already dirt cheap med school tuition is subsidized by an annual $13,000 stipend. Then you earn a decent salary while being a full time medical student. You are not forced to moonlight and your obligations is first and foremost to the med school. Probably the biggest advantage is the fact that you're able to keep up your surgical skills by taking out impacted wisdom teeth, doing full mouth extractions, biopsies, and other minor surgical procedures while still in medical school.
 
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Can someone explain to a noob here what "moonlighting" means?

A quick google search will answer your question.

As a side note, one of the most important skill sets in a resident or student is his or her willingness to try to figure things out on his or her own before asking a senior for answers. I think I was in fifth grade when I was told "try three before me."

I like answering questions on this forum but jamming it up with questions that have already been answered or are easy to answer by doing some internet research is frustrating to see.
 
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Can someone explain to a noob here what "moonlighting" means?
Moonlighting during residency is taking your down time during residency to work part time for an office.
 
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A quick google search will answer your question.

As a side note, one of the most important skill sets in a resident or student is his or her willingness to try to figure things out on his or her own before asking a senior for answers. I think I was in fifth grade when I was told "try three before me."

I like answering questions on this forum but jamming it up with questions that have already been answered or are easy to answer by doing some internet research is frustrating to see.
Dude, my favorite site for helping people understand this principle.

LMGTFY

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