Question about moonlighting

[WnderWmn10]

So, I am a third year and am still a little uncertain about moonlighting options. Can anyone in any specialty moonlight as long as they meet their state and program qualifications. If so, are you only allowed to moonlight in the specialty you are a resident of. Do moonlighting options exist in all specialties and/or are they hard to come by in some areas.

Thanks so much for your answers!

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[gutonc]

So, I am a third year and am still a little uncertain about moonlighting options. Can anyone in any specialty moonlight as long as they meet their state and program qualifications. If so, are you only allowed to moonlight in the specialty you are a resident of. Do moonlighting options exist in all specialties and/or are they hard to come by in some areas.

Thanks so much for your answers!

The answers will vary widely based on the state and the institution. Generally speaking, you only need a full state license to moonlight. Different programs will have different requirements for who can moonlight in their program. In my hospitals, we have 3 different internal moonlighting programs. VA medicine overflow, University Hospitalist Service and the Onc/BMT service. The two medicine services only let IM trained residents and fellows moonlight. The Onc/BMT service is more flexible and has an OB resident, a Neuro resident and a couple of FM residents on it, in addition to the numerous IM and IM subspecialty fellows. Another program in our town just wants a licensed warm body (it's a long-term acute care facility). Another one only wants IM fellows and grads (no residents).

There are some surgical options in community hospitals, obviously only for surgeons and EM options in some smaller places, again only open to EM trained folks. I have no idea about Peds but I assume there are some options out there.

Overall availability of moonlighting options also varies depending on your location. There are very minimal opportunities in NYC but plenty of them in other places. You are way too early to be worrying about this at this point. And you should NOT choose either a specialty or a location based on what moonlighting opportunities may or may not be available to you.

 

[dragonfly99]

Usually for internal med there are quite a few moonlighting options. Usually fellows have more time to moonlight than residents. Part of this depends on your program. Mine had moonlighting at the university hospital for any medicine resident with a license (2nd or 3rd years for example, and also some fellows). The VA lets you work in the ER even if you are internal medicine trained...it's not a trauma center. They only take fellows, not residents. So this is all institution dependent. For sure you need a full medical license to moonlight, as far as I know.