Sweetest Moonlighting Gigs

[timtye78]

I am interested in hearing about the most creative, lucrative moonlighting gigs you are doing or did as an anesthesiology resident.

How did you get this gig? Was it passed down from the seniors? Did you make a few calls around town? How far out in terms of specialty did you venture? How did you take care of affordable mal-practice?

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[powermd]

I am interested in hearing about the most creative, lucrative moonlighting gigs you are doing or did as an anesthesiology resident.

How did you get this gig? Was it passed down from the seniors? Did you make a few calls around town? How far out in terms of specialty did you venture? How did you take care of affordable mal-practice?

Legend has it at a prominent northeastern anesthesia program residents used to be able to do a 24-hr Saturday backup call at an off site location for $750 where you would literally do nothing unless the OR wanted to run a second emergency case, or there was a stat intubation while the CRNA was in the OR. Legend also had it that some residents worked out deals with attendings to take this call from home. This practice has since been forbidden by the department. You know what they say about rules though...

 

[cubs3canes]

One of the hospitals in New Orleans that flooded opened up as an outpatient surgery center. They offer no emergency services. However, they need a licensed doctor there 24-7. They pay 1200 - 1500 for a 24 hour shift based on day and time. You have to stay in house, but I heard that you basically hang out with the nurses.

 

[timtye78]

those both sound pretty sweet!

I remember interviewing at Univ Chicago and the residents telling me about a deal where they needed a licensed doctor to be around for pts getting chemo, i guess to treat abnormal reactions or code people, and they end up sitting around mostly and getting paid $75 per hour. This was an 'internal' program as well.

Here at OU they recently started an internal moonlighting program and we get $60 per hour after 3 pm the clock starts ticking, but we only get it if we are on adult services, or pediatrics. And the pd won't pay you if you aren't caught up to the day by certain deadline on your paperwork.

 

[SleeperHold]

This probably isn't as nice as getting paid for nothing, but at harbor-ucla, I believe residents have the option of working saturday, and make around $1800 for the day. From what I've heard, most then get Monday off as well. It's all within the institution, so hours are equal whether or not you moonlight. Residents who work an average of 2 saturdays a month end up making around 80K total salary. Not too bad, considering southern california is so expensive a place to live.

 

[UTSouthwestern]

Try the long term ventilation facilities. Usually pay 800-1200 for a 12 hour shift where the worst situations are usually patients dislodging their trachs and you replacing them. Occasional code but most are stable by the time they reach these facilities.

 

[PainDr]

Try the long term ventilation facilities. Usually pay 800-1200 for a 12 hour shift where the worst situations are usually patients dislodging their trachs and you replacing them. Occasional code but most are stable by the time they reach these facilities.

Do you have to be in anesthesia to get these types of gigs? I've got a friend looking for additional income (pgy-5 neurosurgery).

 

[invitro]

At UTMB-galveston, residents get $50/hr for ANY case that goes past 4:30pm. Sweet. Plus it's on a beach....you can't beat that with a stick!

 

[Coastie]

Actually....Something is far sweeter than UT-Galveston.. BTW, you call that a beach?

Birmingham, AL...UAB. $75/hr for anything that goes past 3pm. Plus they have liver call opps, with $4/hr to carry the pager for 24 hours, and 75 on top of that an hour for every hour worked.

Outside of radiology moonlighting (which destroys gas), I've never seen anything so sweet.

Coastie...who is off to the land of no moonlighting!

 

[timtye78]

Norm:
How the heck would you approach these places? Do you just call for the medical director or what?
Thanks

 

[Bertelman]

Actually....Something is far sweeter than UT-Galveston.. BTW, you call that a beach?

 

[invitro]

It IS a beach! It's similar to myrtle beach in SC, another one of my favorite beaches. Can't wait until July.....

 

[UTSouthwestern]

Norm:
How the heck would you approach these places? Do you just call for the medical director or what?
Thanks

Usually you have to contact them. The problem is that a lot of the time, the spots are word of mouth type of situations.

Most of the facilities I have heard of preferred having EM or Anesthesiology residents for airway management and code management.

 

[Trisomy13]

the program here has a voluntarily saturday 8 hour call that pays $1000-1250 (i don't know if it was increased recently or not). same rate for a saturday/sunday backup call that is hit or miss (might stay home the whole weekend, might be busy). the residents seem to like it

 

[amyl]

trisomy -- where is that?

 

[Trisomy13]

trisomy -- where is that?

WVU

 

[corpsmanUP]

Here in Iowa, small city ED's will pay EM and some credentialed surg/gas/IM docs a huge amount per hour to work the ED. EM obviously gets first choice, but we can't staff them all. Some of the more desperate places will pay 180.00 an hour for 12-24 hours. Nothing wrong with making 5K for a weekend!

And I am from Houston, and say Galveston is certainly not like Myrtle Beach. It is a brown-watered, flat waved, rather putrid beach.

 

[timtye78]

I get 70$ per hour and paid malpractice to staff these places for anywhere from 3-12 hours per shift, very flexible schedule, BC family docs available by phone, 5 min from home, no overnight. If I think the patient is sick, I send them to the ER. Usually pretty slow, too.

sports phys, uti, small lac repairs, rashes, sore throat, etc.

 

[Jeff05]

-stay till 8:30 pm - $300
-do a pre/post call shift (ca2/3 call is 4pm-7am) - 5 hrs - $500, 8 hrs - $800
-saturday 24 hour trauma call - $1400
-elective cases on saturday $400 to hold pager. get called in $80/hr
-weekend liver call. $1000/24hrs to hold pager, if get called in get additional $800/case.

not difficult to double a monthly salary, if need be. not sure how residents can afford to have a quality life in manhattan without strong moonlighting opportunities.

 

[Noyac]

It IS a beach! It's similar to myrtle beach in SC, another one of my favorite beaches. Can't wait until July.....

I don't want to burst your bubble but I have been to Galveston once, once. I will never go back. We were set to go to Destin Fla. for my in-laws annual family vacation when a hurricane cancelled the trip last minute. Well after quite a few people had bought tickets and taken vacation time off some of the family decided to change the location to Galveston. Notice I said "some of the family" others, myself included were not very excited to say the least. Well we went anyway and when we arrived wwe found the beach totally and I mean totally covered in seaweed. Let me explain something here. You couldn't even see one speck of sand unless youdug with a pitchfork down about a foot. I am not exaggerating. This lasted for the whole week. But it gets worse. You couldn't even get in the water assuming you wanted to walk over more seaweed than anyone would have though existed in the ocean. But things started to look up. As the seaweed rolled in mile after mile, we did manage to catch some fish. Well since the seaweed was so thick the fish just got caugh up in it and couldn't possibly swim so they just washed in with the green mass of nasty rotting astroturf. If you think I am joking one bit, I have the video to prove every bit of it.



I'm not bagging the UT-Gal program at all. Its top notch. I mean, you got to be stupid to not learn something after dealing with that many obese, smoking, drinking, diabetic, cardiac disasters.

But on the bright side. The restaurants are awesome. You have a McDonalds on every corner with Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Popeyes, Denney's, and a whole host of all-you-can-eats.

 

[Bertelman]

If you think I am joking one bit, I have the video to prove every bit of it.

I don't think you're joking, but I'd still love to see that on YouTube.

G-town IS a dump. It's the final clogged filter of Texans before they drain into the Gulf. But I love getting drunk at their mardi gras.

 

[invitro]

Whatever.....

They cleared out the seaweed so the beaches look okay....but y'all are right, seaweed can be a problem every so often. Also, the mosquitoes are VICIOUS. I must have gotten bitten 10 times going out ~6pm yesterday when i forgot my OFF.

But on the bright side, I am able to sunbathe on the beach (for an hour or two) most non-call days. That ought to count for something. The mosquitos don't like the sand. Plus you can't beat 85 and sunny right around october....

There are a lot of restaurants besides fast food ones (although I love my popeyes!!) and honestly the mexican food here is excellent and inexpensive.

It's not NYC....but it's a very good, nuturing program, and for someone who absolutely HATES the cold, doesn't mind driving up to houston for culture, and hates spending tons of money for rent, it's a good fit.

 

[Gasworks]

i also interviewed at utmb.. fantastic program.. great personalities.. residents were very happy with their training. The "city" of galveston on the other hand.. well put it this way I survived 2 years in grenada.. and there is no way in hell I would've last 1 week in galveston. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, "beaches" are just plain filthy and the coast line is peppered with off shore drilling rigs. I flew in to houston the day before (another dump.. sorry mr bush) and drove into galveston to find packs of dogs running around the streets! The "country and western" dance club was closed.. and the bar next door had exactly 3 people sitting inside who looked like they were bored to the brink of insanity. As far as 85 in october.. how about 115 in august and 99% humidity all year round.

Now don't get me wrong.. I'll be the first to say the utmb was the strongest program I interviewed at.. but they made a huge mistake trying to sell galveston as something other than the dump that it is. As for me I trained and now work in the lovely state of new jersey.. a place where its rampant pollution, exorbitant taxes, and high cost of living are offset only by the high school mentailities and near ******ed iq's of its wonderful people.

 

[OB1🤙]

I will preface this post by saying 1) I owe UTMB huge for taking some of us Tulane kids in for 9 months post-Katrina, and 2) their anesthesia program has a great reputation.

That said, Galvatraz is the biggest $hithole of a town I've ever experienced. It has virtually no redeeming qualities. The "beach" is an oil-infused, jellyfish-infested sess pool of an ocean. The restaurants are uniformly terrible, with the exception of a couple so-so BBQ joints. It drove me to overt alcoholism. Others on this forum can vouch for this.

Some may say "Oh, but it has a fun Mardi Gras." To them I would submit that 1) Mardi Gras falls by definition on TUESDAY, and not frigging Saturday. And the fact the the police sweep the town at the stroke of midnight and arrest any drunken stragglers on the spot makes it frankly evil. When asked if they had any idea what Mardi Gras celebrates, a UTMB student said (and I quote) "Didn't someone sail up the Mississippi and establish a town called Mardi Gras?" As a transient New Orleanian, I take such preposterousness very seriously.

The place sucks so bad that it drives their peds residents to attempted murder: http://www.khou.com/news/local/galveston/stories/khou060727_ak_doctorshooting.f106cc.html

As a hospital and anesthesia program, sure, you'll probably be well trained. If you enjoy a life outside of work, you'll probably want to shoot yourself in the face. I barely escaped with my sanity.

 

[Gasworks]

sorry to harp on utmb... but I still remember making my rank list that year and thinking about all the stories they told us about gas residents flipping their cars by the sea wall with vials of fentanyl and hep locks. I really didnt want to be the next guy in one of those stories.

 

[Bertelman]

Some may say "Oh, but it has a fun Mardi Gras." To them I would submit that 1) Mardi Gras falls by definition on TUESDAY, and not frigging Saturday. And the fact the the police sweep the town at the stroke of midnight and arrest any drunken stragglers on the spot makes it frankly evil. When asked if they had any idea what Mardi Gras celebrates, a UTMB student said (and I quote) "Didn't someone sail up the Mississippi and establish a town called Mardi Gras?" As a transient New Orleanian, I take such preposterousness very seriously.

Not sure if you are referencing my comments, but I feel I must respond. In no way do I consider the events near Ash Wednesday in Galveston to represent a true Mardi Gras experience.

Having said that, it is nonetheless a great time to get drunk, listen to good (free) music, and eat gorditas from the little ladies on the street. And I pity the poor borrachos in the drunk bus! Since I don't live in N.O., nor do I have friends living there that might make accommodations reasonable, my nights in G-Town were a fair compromise.