Year Off - need moonlighting type jobs

[jcarterw5515]

I'm taking a year off after completing my internship in General Surgery - I would like to moonlight during this year. Does anyone have any advise? I'm going to take Step 3 in June. Specifically I would like to live on the Gulf Coast somewhere - maybe New Orleans. Does anyone know of jobs in those areas I could apply for?? Truthfully location isnt even that important to me - I'd go anywhere in the country if the job was good. Thanks.

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[Winged Scapula]

If you want to work in an Urgent Care center you generally need a full and unrestricted license in the state you will be moonlighting in so I would start making some decisions about where you want to be. If you know you will be returning to the state where you are currently doing internship, it will probably be easier just to get a license in that state.

Most places also want you to have your own DEA. You can apply for this after you pass Step 3 and get a license.

Honestly though, most places looking for a moonlighter are looking for someone with more than a year of surgical internship under their belt. The issue of what kind of work someone can get with only a year of residency is talked about frequently; you'll find lots of threads if you do a search. You might be able to make some money moonlighting as an inhouse surgical resident for hospitals without residents and general surgery groups that are busy enough to hire someone to take the nuisance calls and check out ED consults for them. Others have made money doing discharge summaries or insurance physicals. The options are limited.

 

[Blade28]

You're going to have your work cut out for you - applying for a state medical license (not to mention DEA number and hospital privileges) can be a long, painful experience. And if you're not taking Step 3 until June, the earliest you'll be able to start this process is, what, July? August? So you may only be able to actually moonlight from October/November to June.

Regardless, Winged Scapula makes some good points. I personally wouldn't have felt comfortable moonlighting on my own after only my PGY-1 year - you might also find that some LTACs, nursing homes, wards and urgent care centers require at least two clinical years' worth of experience. Definitely look around, though, and see what's out there.

 

[TigerLily46]

What about malpractice insurance? How do you even look to find these jobs?

 

[Winged Scapula]

What about malpractice insurance? How do you even look to find these jobs?

Most places hiring you to do moonlighting stuff will pay for your malpractice.

These jobs can be found by looking in relevant trade journals and asking around. As we noted above, without completing a residency or having a full and unrestricted license, the OP is not going to find much. So he/she may have to be a little bit more aggressive and creative and actually contact local medical groups to see if they have a need to pay someone to round for them, take phone calls, etc. A large group may be able to swing paying someone $50/hour to do these things especially if its a PT job, so they don't have to pay for benes.

 

[Blade28]

What about malpractice insurance? How do you even look to find these jobs?

The hospitals where I moonlight all provide your malpractice coverage.

And I found out about spots via word-of-mouth (from other moonlighting residents).