What's the cost of having a Cell phone for residency?

[Casey James]

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I'm looking into getting a cellphone for residency. I'm looking at a Verizon plan for me and my SO at $69.99 a month for 700 mins. That's $85 after tax. This is very expensive I think. I doubt that we'll actually use 700 mins and we won't be able to roll it over. So here are my questions.

1. How much do you pay for your wireless service (including tax)?

2. How many minutes do you use in the hospital on work related calls in a month? How many minutes do you think an intern would use in the hospital?

 

[angel80]

I have Verizon Wireless. I pay $39.99 a month (approx $45.00 after tax.) I get 450 peak minutes, which are nationwide, without roaming charges. Nights are free from 9pm to 6am. Weekends are free as well. As far as using the phone in the hospital for business purposes, the only time I do that is if I get paged and I'm not right next to a phone, I use my cell to call back. Likewise, if I am paging someone and I don't feel like sitting next to a phone, waiting for them to call me back, I will page them to my cell phone. I use my cell phone for my personal life, not for work, but at this point, I could not imagine not having the phone.

 

[Wrigleyville]

I don't see any residents/interns using cell phones in the hospital itself. All of the hospitals I've worked at seem to have terrible reception for the most part anyway. Also there are house phones everywhere. Some of the residents use em to return pages if they're on the road between sites or whatever. It allows them to get some work done in the car instead of having it build up during the drive.

Bottom line, I think the cell phone would be more of a consideration for personal use. Look into getting a plan that combines cell, home phone and internet +/- cable tv. I can't fathom paying 80 bucks just for the cell service.

 

[Casey James]

Thanks wrigleyville and angel80 for your very helpful replies. I'd just like to emphasize that the $85 is for myself AND my so. It's the two person version of Angel80's plan.

A one person plan plus home land line plus use of ever disappearing payphones comes to about the same.


The realistic alternative to a two person cell plan would be a land line (plus payphone use) and no cell. I'd probably be inclined to do that if it weren't for all the talk I hear about how essential a cell phone is in residency. Your comments are very interesting in that regard.

 

[cdql]

I would agree with the hospital issue. The only service in my hospital that gets reception is Nextel. I would definitely ask around to see which service does work within the hospital so that you don't end up paying $80 a month for a plan that doesn't work where you'll be 90% of the time!

 

[Orange Julius]

.

 

[Casey James]

I would agree with the hospital issue. The only service in my hospital that gets reception is Nextel. I would definitely ask around to see which service does work within the hospital so that you don't end up paying $80 a month for a plan that doesn't work where you'll be 90% of the time!

Thanks. I did check. Verizon is the company that works in the hospital where I'll be working and in the surrounding part of town. That's the main reason why I chose them. Plus they seem to have one of the best plans. The issue for me is more a question of whether I really need it.

 

[Blade28]

We get a 10-15% discount through Verizon for being employees of our university hospital...so that helps.

 

[DrHeartMD]

We get a 10-15% discount through Verizon for being employees of our university hospital...so that helps.

hey check with verizon about your hospital as you do definitely get employee discounts with most major medical centers...these are very substantial discounts (mine is around 18% off the plan cost I believe). so it should help offset some of your expenses. good luck

 

[stephend7799]

I'm looking into getting a cellphone for residency. I'm looking at a Verizon plan for me and my SO at $69.99 a month for 700 mins. That's $85 after tax. This is very expensive I think. I doubt that we'll actually use 700 mins and we won't be able to roll it over. So here are my questions.

1. How much do you pay for your wireless service (including tax)?

2. How many minutes do you use in the hospital on work related calls in a month? How many minutes do you think an intern would use in the hospital?

i easily spent about 4-500 bucks on going out to bars dinner stripc lubs everymonth.. so 85 bucks for a cell phone is nothing

 

[cdql]

You could always ditch your landline phone if you're having problems with the cell phone payments (I use my cell phone way more than my landline phone anyway)

 

[Casey James]

You could always ditch your landline phone if you're having problems with the cell phone payments (I use my cell phone way more than my landline phone anyway)

Thanks. As I said earlier I would get rid of the landline if we got cell phones. I don't see any need for a landline if I'd have a cellphone. Anyway the issue isn't that I don't think I could actually make the cell phone payments. Rather the issue is whether getting cell phones would be a justifiable expense.

 

[cdql]

ahhh...i see

i think it would be worthwhile...i mean, everyone's got one now (sadly enough, i see 6 year old children walking around with em now!)

so why not? in case of an emergency, you'll be glad you spent the money on this and not a landline phone!

 

[Blade28]

I ditched my landland back at the beginning of med school. No need for it.

 

[8744]

You know, I am not a luddite but because I have a pager and there is a phone every few feet in the Hospital, I don't really need a cell-phone. I am married don't have a stable of friends who I must chat with continuously and my wife pages me if she wants to talk.

I am amused by my unemployed, poor, and uneducated patients who spend more time on their cell phone while I am examining them than I do in an entire month.

I also pretty much only drive about four miles a day each way on city streets. I have used my cell phone infrequently and while I appreciate the convenience (remembering well the time before cell phones and also the time when cell phones were so cool and expensive that fake phones were all the rage. "Hey baby, check me out. I'm talking on a phone...in my car") I really don't think having one is worth the money it cost us.

But I'm glad my wife has one.

 

[Casey James]

But I'm glad my wife has one.

For security? Now you're making me feel all guilty, like if something happened to my SO and I opted not to get cell phones, it'd be my fault and I'd regret it forever. Or is it just that your wife likes to talk on the phone a lot whereever she is?

 

[8744]

For security? Now you're making me feel all guilty, like if something happened to my SO and I opted not to get cell phones, it'd be my fault and I'd regret it forever. Or is it just that your wife likes to talk on the phone a lot whereever she is?

In case she breaks down at night on the interstate.

 

[cdql]

yup...if nothing else, get the cheapest cell phone plan possible, keep the landline, and just use the cell phone for emergencies

 

[Casey James]

Thanks for all your advise. I think I'll hold out and not buy for the time being. I'm going to resist the paranoia play. Big city, no car, no interstate.

 

[glorytaker]

You know what's funny, I'm keeping my cell phone because EVERY doctor I see in the hospital uses a cell phone. The ICU docs, the psych doc, the ID doc, the pulm doc, the cardio doc, etc. The only ones who I didn't see answering their phone every 5 minutes were the ER docs. That's why I thought I would need a cell phone handy.

 

[EctopicFetus]

You know what's funny, I'm keeping my cell phone because EVERY doctor I see in the hospital uses a cell phone. The ICU docs, the psych doc, the ID doc, the pulm doc, the cardio doc, etc. The only ones who I didn't see answering their phone every 5 minutes were the ER docs. That's why I thought I would need a cell phone handy.

Thats why im going into EM..

 

[MossPoh]

You can also look into those prepaid plans......while they cost more per minute you can wind up paying much less per month simply because you may not use the cell that much. Heck it might be a good idea to try that for a bit and see how much you use your cell...some are free incoming calls as well..or discounted...but they can be good because if you don't have the cash you simply don't pay anything until you figure you'll need it again or have the money...no contracts either.

 

[yaah]

You know, I am not a luddite but because I have a pager and there is a phone every few feet in the Hospital, I don't really need a cell-phone. I am married don't have a stable of friends who I must chat with continuously and my wife pages me if she wants to talk.

I am amused by my unemployed, poor, and uneducated patients who spend more time on their cell phone while I am examining them than I do in an entire month.

I also pretty much only drive about four miles a day each way on city streets. I have used my cell phone infrequently and while I appreciate the convenience (remembering well the time before cell phones and also the time when cell phones were so cool and expensive that fake phones were all the rage. "Hey baby, check me out. I'm talking on a phone...in my car") I really don't think having one is worth the money it cost us.

But I'm glad my wife has one.

Indeed. There is a resident in my program who walks in every day while talking on the phone, and even sits at the microscope in the afternoon with one hand on the focus and the other on her phone. I keep asking myself what is she talking about that is so important? since I can't figure it out because she is speaking persian.

In many hospitals (or parts of hospitals, anyway) cell phones don't even work. I have one but I don't really get a signal most of the day. And like you said, there are literally phones every 20 feet in hospitals. The only time I ever use mine related to work is when I am on call and in transit between home and work (15 minutes) which only happens rarely.

I pay $20 a month for my cell phone and $50 for the land line. I have 40 minutes per month during the week and 200 on the weekend. I have never used up the weekend minutes, and only about 10% of the time do I go over the 40 minutes. I fail to understand how people can talk on the phone enough to warrant unlimited minutes unless they are a salesperson.

I think it's because everyone is so important and we all need to get in touch with each other immediately or we might die. I have already given people permission to kill me painfully if I ever get a blackberry.

 

[8744]

Indeed. There is a resident in my program who walks in every day while talking on the phone, and even sits at the microscope in the afternoon with one hand on the focus and the other on her phone. I keep asking myself what is she talking about that is so important? since I can't figure it out because she is speaking persian.

In many hospitals (or parts of hospitals, anyway) cell phones don't even work. I have one but I don't really get a signal most of the day. And like you said, there are literally phones every 20 feet in hospitals. The only time I ever use mine related to work is when I am on call and in transit between home and work (15 minutes) which only happens rarely.

I pay $20 a month for my cell phone and $50 for the land line. I have 40 minutes per month during the week and 200 on the weekend. I have never used up the weekend minutes, and only about 10% of the time do I go over the 40 minutes. I fail to understand how people can talk on the phone enough to warrant unlimited minutes unless they are a salesperson.

I think it's because everyone is so important and we all need to get in touch with each other immediately or we might die. I have already given people permission to kill me painfully if I ever get a blackberry.

Silence is OK. I'm going to cause a firestorm of flaming for saying this but I also don't feel the need to listen to music on my iPod 24 hours per day. (but I don't actually own an iPod.)

 

[gyngirl631]

I can't imagine not having my cell for residency (I'm staring in July).. during med school all the residents called eachother and answered pages from their phones.. on my acting internships I saved a good hour each post call morning by paging people to my cell instead of sitting by a phone waiting for them to call me back. Just my two cents.

 

[Casey James]

I pay $20 a month for my cell phone and $50 for the land line. I have 40 minutes per month during the week and 200 on the weekend. I have never used up the weekend minutes, and only about 10% of the time do I go over the 40 minutes.

Yaah, can you tell me what plan that is? It isn't an add on to your family's plan is it?

 

[yaah]

Silence is OK. I'm going to cause a firestorm of flaming for saying this but I also don't feel the need to listen to music on my iPod 24 hours per day. (but I don't actually own an iPod.)

Let's hold hands. I don't own one either, nor do I ever want one. I tend to prefer interaction and observation with the world, and I feel Ipods take this away. I also have never been one that likes music on while I am doing things, I save music for when I am not trying to concentrate on work.

My plan is T-mobile basic. I don't even think it exists anymore, I think the cheapest they offer is $29.99 now. I guess I was grandfathered in.

I find it hard to believe that one can save an hour by paging people to their cell phone, but I am not a clinical resident so I am not really that relevant to that discussion. I do have to page clinical residents and answer their pages a lot. We have text pages here, and I page that I will be at a certain number for awhile, and after that they can page me when they are free. Works just as well.

 

[carrigallen]

I am amused by my unemployed, poor, and uneducated patients who spend more time on their cell phone while I am examining them than I do in an entire month.

Agreed - how about the unemployed families in which the 9, 11, 14, and 16 year old siblings all have cell phones, in addition to mom, dad, grandma, etc.

I do agree with another poster that paging to a cell phone does save a lot of time.

 

[ekydrd]

I can't imagine not having my cell for residency... on my acting internships I saved a good hour each post call morning by paging people to my cell instead of sitting by a phone waiting for them to call me back. Just my two cents.

This can be a good idea... if you get good reception (as noted my another poster). I work in 5 different hospitals, and go to the medical school for departmental meetings. I don't use my cell phone much, but it does come in handy when I am "out of house" and get a page.

 

[gwen]

hey there,

i actually have that 700 minute shared plan through verizon for $69.99. luckily, my hospital offers a 19% discount which really helps. my fiance actually has a sprint shared plan and gets a 25% discount through his hospital (i think he gets a million minutes for like 25 bucks and is now refusing to change his plan ever - even after we get married...b/c it would be nice for the two of us to share the same carrier). if i were you, i'd really call up that hospital and find out what deals they offer.

good luck.

 

[Casey James]

hey there,

i actually have that 700 minute shared plan through verizon for $69.99. luckily, my hospital offers a 19% discount which really helps. my fiance actually has a sprint shared plan and gets a 25% discount through his hospital (i think he gets a million minutes for like 25 bucks and is now refusing to change his plan ever - even after we get married...b/c it would be nice for the two of us to share the same carrier). if i were you, i'd really call up that hospital and find out what deals they offer.

good luck.

Thanks. I will. But are you telling me that you and your fiance have TWO shared plans. 😱

 

[gwen]

lol...well, yes. i share with my sister and he shares with his brother and father. so now we're battling it out (verizon versus sprint). it sucks that my cell has poor reception in the house we're moving into - so i might have to switch to sprint...i really don't want to. otherwise, i LOVE verizon...it has never given me any problems except this time.