Am I crazy for thinking that hospital medicine is one of the best lifestyle specialties?

[ortnakas]

That's one of the great selling points of primary care: the very diverse job market.

100% agreed. Reading your posts, you’re clearly very happy with the job you have, which sounds miserable to me. Meanwhile I’m happy as a clam at my job, which sounds like it would be miserable to you. There is something for everyone.

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[Splenda88]

I’m feeling quite lucky with my managed care job right now. Ten patients is a busy day.

That sounds incredible. Are they paying you market rate?

 

[ortnakas]

That sounds incredible. Are they paying you market rate?

Think so. Not gonna give an exact number. Pre-bonus base is over $200K, low end of normal, but I was fortunate to be in a position where I could care about quality of life and location over salary as long as it wasn’t totally lowball. I haven’t been there long enough to get a quarterly bonus yet but my partners tell me it more than makes up the difference (again going to refrain from exact numbers but because it’s managed care, bonus gets based on things like quality measures and satisfaction and clinic profit, not RVU).

Managed care world means there’s a lot more messages (nurses and MAs are first contact though), paperwork and overall sicker patients with more complicated requirements for notes than regular private insurance clinics, so it’s not for everyone, but I like it a lot. It’s a good fit for me.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

Think so. Not gonna give an exact number. Pre-bonus base is over $200K, low end of normal, but I was fortunate to be in a position where I could care about quality of life and location over salary as long as it wasn’t totally lowball. I haven’t been there long enough to get a quarterly bonus yet but my partners tell me it more than makes up the difference (again going to refrain from exact numbers but because it’s managed care, bonus gets based on things like quality measures and satisfaction and clinic profit, not RVU).

Managed care world means there’s a lot more messages (nurses and MAs are first contact though), paperwork and overall sicker patients with more complicated requirements for notes than regular private insurance clinics, so it’s not for everyone, but I like it a lot. It’s a good fit for me.

That was my experience when I had a similar job several years ago. 210k base, yearly bonus maxed out around 30-50k.

Not bad for 12ish patients per day, 4 days per week.

 

[IM.MD]

Hospitalists typically work busy 12 hour shifts 7 days / nights in a row, including every other weekend and holiday, while getting paid less per hour than other shift work specialties like EM, CCM and anesthesiology. You are essentially cramming two full-time work weeks into one with no real PTO. The quantity (84 hours during the on week) and quality (working every other weekend and holiday, nights, or after 5 pm if day shift) of the working hours are pretty bad. How is it a lifestyle specialty?

 

[FutureInternist]

Hospitalists typically work busy 12 hour shifts 7 days / nights in a row, including every other weekend and holiday, while getting paid less per hour than other shift work specialties like EM, CCM and anesthesiology. You are essentially cramming two full-time work weeks into one with no real PTO. The quantity (84 hours during the on week) and quality (working every other weekend and holiday, nights, or after 5 pm if day shift) of the working hours are pretty bad. How is it a lifestyle specialty?

You don’t always have to stay there till the end of your shift.
If its a “round and go” kind of deal its a sweet gig.
I am home usually at 3 everyday and noon on weekends (shift ends at 7pm)

 

[CCM-MD]

You don’t always have to stay there till the end of your shift.
If its a “round and go” kind of deal its a sweet gig.
I am home usually at 3 everyday and noon on weekends (shift ends at 7pm)

Many employers actually want hospitalists to work their entire shift. Not every hospitalist job is a sweet set up round and go, admitters, closed ICU, no nights, low patient load, not expected to work your whole shift etc.

 

[Splenda88]

Many employers actually want hospitalists to work their entire shift. Not every hospitalist job is a sweet set up round and go, admitters, closed ICU, no nights, low patient load, not expected to work your whole shift etc.

Mine is at 6pm but still think it's a lifestyle specialty.

 

[Osteoth]

Many employers actually want hospitalists to work their entire shift. Not every hospitalist job is a sweet set up round and go, admitters, closed ICU, no nights, low patient load, not expected to work your whole shift etc.

Another big reason to avoid the big staffing agencies/managed care groups like the plague. They dont care about your career longevity or burnout and will run you dry 7A-7P heaping more and more work on you until the next batch of grads comes up. They have legions of recruiters looking for the next sucker at all times.

 

[FutureInternist]

Many employers actually want hospitalists to work their entire shift. Not every hospitalist job is a sweet set up round and go, admitters, closed ICU, no nights, low patient load, not expected to work your whole shift etc.

That’s when the time needed to do the task magically is the same time that they want you there.. 😏.

If not for round & go, then I agree that it would be a 💩 situation.

 

[Splenda88]

I like my hospitalist job so far. Last Sunday I spent 2 hrs in the physician dinning room watching an entire soccer game. I have no patients waiting to be seen. Just had to answer a couple pesky phone calls about patient who want pain pill.


I guess different folks have different tolerance for bullsh***t

 

[IM.MD]

You don’t always have to stay there till the end of your shift.
If its a “round and go” kind of deal its a sweet gig.
I am home usually at 3 everyday and noon on weekends (shift ends at 7pm)

In my experience / search the round and go gigs are uncommon and they pay about the same as outpatient IM working 8 am to 4-5 pm, 4 days a week with no weekends or holidays + 30 work days PTO. I make great money as a day hospitalist but it's difficult to leave earlier than 7 pm because it gets busy in the afternoons and the day team admits until 6:15 pm. Unfortunately, we have no admitting / swing shift. So, we admit throughout the day as we discharge and round 84 hours in one week while missing out on many social events. Gets old fast. The week off does not make up for it.

 

[Osteoth]

In my experience / search the round and go gigs are uncommon and they pay about the same as outpatient IM working 8 am to 4-5 pm, 4 days a week with no weekends or holidays + 30 work days PTO. I make great money as a day hospitalist but it's difficult to leave earlier than 7 pm because it gets busy in the afternoons and the day team admits until 6:15 pm. Unfortunately, we have no admitting / swing shift. So, we admit throughout the day as we discharge and round 84 hours in one week while missing out on many social events. Gets old fast. The week off does not make up for it.

I think hospital work is great when you’re young then PCP as you age.

 

[wjs010]

I am a new grad Hospitalist. I love my job so far. Technically the job is 7 a to 7p but literally my boss came up with a system where we can buddy up with people and leave early. I can’t leave before 5 though. (How are you people leaving at 1-2, as In who’s covering your patients ?)

I have good base pay and bonus’s . I have to work a few weeks of nights per year so far but more and more are wanting nights only rua will decrease. The only bad thing about my job is missing holidays. We get scheduled to alternate holidays every other year. But we can trade freely. Right now I love it but don’t get me wrong, if there’s a M-Thus.5 with equal pay, I’ll probably take that. The Hospitalist schedule works for me because my wife is stay at home with our baby.

Someone will have to convince me that the hours for pcp are actually those hours. I’ve heard people are “off “ at 5, then charting for 2 hours. Well that’s worse than my schedule and I get a week off after.

 

[Splenda88]

I am a new grad Hospitalist. I love my job so far. Technically the job is 7 a to 7p but literally my boss came up with a system where we can buddy up with people and leave early. I can’t leave before 5 though. (How are you people leaving at 1-2, as In who’s covering your patients ?)

I have good base pay and bonus’s . I have to work a few weeks of nights per year so far but more and more are wanting nights only rua will decrease. The only bad thing about my job is missing holidays. We get scheduled to alternate holidays every other year. But we can trade freely. Right now I love it but don’t get me wrong, if there’s a M-Thus.5 with equal pay, I’ll probably take that. The Hospitalist schedule works for me because my wife is stay at home with our baby.

Someone will have to convince me that the hours for pcp are actually those hours. I’ve heard people are “off “ at 5, then charting for 2 hours. Well that’s worse than my schedule and I get a week off after.

It sounds like you have a good job. Being able to leave at 5pm is great. It's like working 65 hrs while having the other week off. Both settings (outpatient vs. inpatient) have their pluses and minuses. However, I feel like hospitali medicine has more pluses and less minuses. There is a reason more FM graduating residents are getting into the hospitalist bandwagon.

The ability to make 400k/yr working 17.5 days a month without killing oneself makes hospital medicine very appealing. I keep in touch with 7 people in my graduating class and everyone is ok with their job so far. Maybe transitioning from being a poor resident to being a "rich" doctor make people turn a blind eye on the worst aspects of hospital medicine.

 

[Splenda88]

I think hospital work is great when you’re young then PCP as you age.

It's even better when you are old since you can get a job in most places working 1 week/mohth and still have benefits.

There are a couple of them in my group. However, they are in their late 40s and early 50s.

 

[collegestud2013]

Hospitalists typically work busy 12 hour shifts 7 days / nights in a row, including every other weekend and holiday, while getting paid less per hour than other shift work specialties like EM, CCM and anesthesiology. You are essentially cramming two full-time work weeks into one with no real PTO. The quantity (84 hours during the on week) and quality (working every other weekend and holiday, nights, or after 5 pm if day shift) of the working hours are pretty bad. How is it a lifestyle specialty?

On rounding shifts, you can leave a little early if you finish your work early (and this is informally allowed at your place) so you're not quite working the full 84 hrs. You probably can't leave early on admitting and nights shifts.

If you do the standard 7on/7off and don't take extra shifts, 84 hrs per week x 26 wks = 2184 hours, which is actually a lot lower hours than other non-shift based specialties. For example, it's typical for a cardiologist or GI to work an average of 58 hrs per week x 48 weeks (with 4 weeks of vacation) = 2784 hrs per year.

EM and CCM do get paid more per hour, but the acuity and/or volume patients they see are higher and they often do procedures as well, so the intensity of their work is at a higher level. But this also leads to higher billing, higher RVUs per hour which leads to higher pay per hour .Keep in mind that EM and CCM always rank among highest on the physician burnout surveys. And with the EM job market highly saturated right now, I suspect their hourly paying is going to get squeezed down similar to a hospitalist rate (despite generating more RVUs per hour).

Overall, I would stay lifestyle for hospitalist is decent, and how good it is depends on your preferences. It's not as chill as working 4 days a week from 9-5 in clinic, but also not as intensive as some of the surgical subspecialities that are working 6 days per week almost every week of the year plus being responsible for overnight call.

The pay right now is also middle of the line compared to all specialties but pretty good considering the shorter 3-year residency. If you're only doing 7on/7off (which averages about 15 shifts per month, expect to make from low-to mid $300ks these days. If you take on some extra shifts and average 18 shifts per month, you could probably increase that to low $400ks while working about the same total hrs per year as an average cardiologist or GI. While cards and GI might make closer to $500k for similar hours of work, they also have to go through least 3 additional years of training, the extra money they make is going to be taxed at 37-48% so the post-tax difference is much smaller.

 

[FutureInternist]

I am a new grad Hospitalist. I love my job so far. Technically the job is 7 a to 7p but literally my boss came up with a system where we can buddy up with people and leave early. I can’t leave before 5 though. (How are you people leaving at 1-2, as In who’s covering your patients ?)

I have good base pay and bonus’s . I have to work a few weeks of nights per year so far but more and more are wanting nights only rua will decrease. The only bad thing about my job is missing holidays. We get scheduled to alternate holidays every other year. But we can trade freely. Right now I love it but don’t get me wrong, if there’s a M-Thus.5 with equal pay, I’ll probably take that. The Hospitalist schedule works for me because my wife is stay at home with our baby.

Someone will have to convince me that the hours for pcp are actually those hours. I’ve heard people are “off “ at 5, then charting for 2 hours. Well that’s worse than my schedule and I get a week off after.

It goes w/o saying that if pts are unstable then you don’t leave… eventhough Rapid Response and/or ICU will be the ones that actually manage the pt when they crash.. you want to try and be there for a proper handoff.

In my 9 years, I have had to come back to the hospital for unexpected issues, like 4 times.

Holidays don’t matter to me, specially religious ones so I am everyone’s go to person to take their Xmas, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving etc… but I usually ask for a max of 12 pts (since I will only have them for a day), and still get paid the same.

 

[Osteoth]

On rounding shifts, you can leave a little early if you finish your work early (and this is informally allowed at your place) so you're not quite working the full 84 hrs. You probably can't leave early on admitting and nights shifts.

If you do the standard 7on/7off and don't take extra shifts, 84 hrs per week x 26 wks = 2184 hours, which is actually a lot lower hours than other non-shift based specialties. For example, it's typical for a cardiologist or GI to work an average of 58 hrs per week x 48 weeks (with 4 weeks of vacation) = 2784 hrs per year.

EM and CCM do get paid more per hour, but the acuity and/or volume patients they see are higher and they often do procedures as well, so the intensity of their work is at a higher level. But this also leads to higher billing, higher RVUs per hour which leads to higher pay per hour .Keep in mind that EM and CCM always rank among highest on the physician burnout surveys. And with the EM job market highly saturated right now, I suspect their hourly paying is going to get squeezed down similar to a hospitalist rate (despite generating more RVUs per hour).

Overall, I would stay lifestyle for hospitalist is decent, and how good it is depends on your preferences. It's not as chill as working 4 days a week from 9-5 in clinic, but also not as intensive as some of the surgical subspecialities that are working 6 days per week almost every week of the year plus being responsible for overnight call.

The pay right now is also middle of the line compared to all specialties but pretty good considering the shorter 3-year residency. If you're only doing 7on/7off (which averages about 15 shifts per month, expect to make from low-to mid $300ks these days. If you take on some extra shifts and average 18 shifts per month, you could probably increase that to low $400ks while working about the same total hrs per year as an average cardiologist or GI. While cards and GI might make closer to $500k for similar hours of work, they also have to go through least 3 additional years of training, the extra money they make is going to be taxed at 37-48% so the post-tax difference is much smaller.

This is good.

 

[wjs010]

It sounds like you have a good job. Being able to leave at 5pm is great. It's like working 65 hrs while having the other week off. Both settings (outpatient vs. inpatient) have their pluses and minuses. However, I feel like hospitali medicine has more pluses and less minuses. There is a reason more FM graduating residents are getting into the hospitalist bandwagon.

The ability to make 400k/yr working 17.5 days a month without killing oneself makes hospital medicine very appealing. I keep in touch with 7 people in my graduating class and everyone is ok with their job so far. Maybe transitioning from being a poor resident to being a "rich" doctor make people turn a blind eye on the worst aspects of hospital medicine.

I should mention that I can leave at 5 even if I’m doing admissions. We don’t have straight rounder shifts and we typically do 2-3 admissions per day. I gotta say I actually liked this . I did one admitted shift on my first day and it was not fun. This way I mainly round but still keep my admitting brain sharp. Plus you always know a patient better when you admitted them.

 

[wjs010]

It goes w/o saying that if pts are unstable then you don’t leave… eventhough Rapid Response and/or ICU will be the ones that actually manage the pt when they crash.. you want to try and be there for a proper handoff.

In my 9 years, I have had to come back to the hospital for unexpected issues, like 4 times.

Holidays don’t matter to me, specially religious ones so I am everyone’s go to person to take their Xmas, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving etc… but I usually ask for a max of 12 pts (since I will only have them for a day), and still get paid the same.

Agree except at our larger hospital where I’m usual at, critical NP/ attending respond to all rapids and take over them. We just show up and provide information, which they don’t need because they are going through what’s happening based on the one liner that is “what are they here for.” But yea we respond if it’s our patient only, just to help them out a little with back info. But a lot of time it’s on Tuesday morning and I’m like wtf man.

 

[IM.MD]

Most hospitalist jobs are so frustratingly busy with no real medical issues / interruptions that if you want to do a good job you are going to be in the hospital the full 12 hour shift. Most chill hospitalist gigs don't pay well and a cushy gig can quickly change to a busy one depending on what else the administration decides to add on your plate. I did not go through all this education to work hectic 84 hours a week, including half the weekends and holidays. You have no personal life half your life until you retire. and then, unfortunately, many folks get chronically sick and the quality of life decreases. However, now you cherish the random Tuesday off when everyone else is at work. You are not going to fly down to the Caribbean every other week or even every other month. Even if you do, you'll be dreading the upcoming 84 hour work week while you are indulging in consumerism in a failed attempt to justify and recover from the previous 84 hour beatdown. You'll likely be catching up on life - family, friends, dentist appointments, mechanic, laundry, etc. Working that many hours in one week can literally cost you your life prematurely and the week off does not change that. What's the point then of your fat 403B, 457B, Roth and vanguard brokerage account other than helping out your family which is definitely important and admirable. Nocturnist work (now talking bigger money) is even more devastating to your health. And no, you are not going to retire as early as you think. Pace yourself, it's a marathon, protect your weekends and holidays, take care of your mental and physical well being and family / social life.

"The research found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared with a working week of 35 to 40 hours."

Long working hours killing 745,000 people a year, study finds

The World Health Organization says the trend may worsen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

www.bbc.com

 

[Splenda88]

Well,

I prefer working working ~80 hrs every other week than workin M-F 8 to 5pm job (or 50+/hrs week like most other specialties). I feel like I have more time to do things than when I was working a M-F job.

 

[wjs010]

Yikes. The job you described does sound terrible. But the way I see it, if you have a decent gig, it’s prettt sweet. There are some days I’m off at 5… literally earlier than clinic folks. The week off “can” be spent traveling.it just depends on if that lá what you want. I can see how if one had a terrible job where it was 7A-7P and doing limes, tubes, codes, and rapids would be miserable. I see it like I get to make it to appointments , etc. I’m a new grad but I love it so far

Most hospitalist jobs are so frustratingly busy with no real medical issues / interruptions that if you want to do a good job you are going to be in the hospital the full 12 hour shift. Most chill hospitalist gigs don't pay well and a cushy gig can quickly change to a busy one depending on what else the administration decides to add on your plate. I did not go through all this education to work hectic 84 hours a week, including half the weekends and holidays. You have no personal life half your life until you retire. and then, unfortunately, many folks get chronically sick and the quality of life decreases. However, now you cherish the random Tuesday off when everyone else is at work. You are not going to fly down to the Caribbean every other week or even every other month. Even if you do, you'll be dreading the upcoming 84 hour work week while you are indulging in consumerism in a failed attempt to justify and recover from the previous 84 hour beatdown. You'll likely be catching up on life - family, friends, dentist appointments, mechanic, laundry, etc. Working that many hours in one week can literally cost you your life prematurely and the week off does not change that. What's the point then of your fat 403B, 457B, Roth and vanguard brokerage account other than helping out your family which is definitely important and admirable. Nocturnist work (now talking bigger money) is even more devastating to your health. And no, you are not going to retire as early as you think. Pace yourself, it's a marathon, protect your weekends and holidays, take care of your mental and physical well being and family / social life.

"The research found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared with a working week of 35 to 40 hours."

Long working hours killing 745,000 people a year, study finds

The World Health Organization says the trend may worsen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

www.bbc.com

 

[collegestud2013]

Most hospitalist jobs are so frustratingly busy with no real medical issues / interruptions that if you want to do a good job you are going to be in the hospital the full 12 hour shift. Most chill hospitalist gigs don't pay well and a cushy gig can quickly change to a busy one depending on what else the administration decides to add on your plate. I did not go through all this education to work hectic 84 hours a week, including half the weekends and holidays. You have no personal life half your life until you retire. and then, unfortunately, many folks get chronically sick and the quality of life decreases. However, now you cherish the random Tuesday off when everyone else is at work. You are not going to fly down to the Caribbean every other week or even every other month. Even if you do, you'll be dreading the upcoming 84 hour work week while you are indulging in consumerism in a failed attempt to justify and recover from the previous 84 hour beatdown. You'll likely be catching up on life - family, friends, dentist appointments, mechanic, laundry, etc. Working that many hours in one week can literally cost you your life prematurely and the week off does not change that. What's the point then of your fat 403B, 457B, Roth and vanguard brokerage account other than helping out your family which is definitely important and admirable. Nocturnist work (now talking bigger money) is even more devastating to your health. And no, you are not going to retire as early as you think. Pace yourself, it's a marathon, protect your weekends and holidays, take care of your mental and physical well being and family / social life.

"The research found that working 55 hours or more a week was associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared with a working week of 35 to 40 hours."

Long working hours killing 745,000 people a year, study finds

The World Health Organization says the trend may worsen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

www.bbc.com

7on/7off isn't the only schedule out there. Some places have 5on/5off which can partially with the burnout some people get from working 7 days (or nights) in a row but you still end up working the same numbers of weakness. There are also other gigs that are Mon-Fri 8-10 hr shifts plus occasional weekend coverage (depending on how many are in the group to rotate weekends). Some places will also have resident or midlevel coverage of patients to help with some of the more scutty work like writing notes, placing orders, calling consults, calling families, etc....

 

[FutureInternist]

I have many many friends that are hospitalists and have yet to have someone who is required to stay till the end of their shift, or who are so busy (save those who ask for the extra pts for the RVU), that they are there for the full 12 hours.

If someone is consistently having to do that then they need to re-evaluate how they work.

The few jobs I have heard of (and ran away from) that required in-house coverage from the IM team usually involved a different person being the one who stayed, while everyone else left.

I used to work the admission shift which was 10a-10p and hence could never (rightfully) leave early.
The bonuses were awesome, and I used the 1st year to pay down my house a great extent.
Changed to rounding, bonuses fell by half, but home at 3, max 4 pm (and noon-ish on weekends) so then getting paid for hours that I am actually home with the occasional Epic text message for something minor.

The income potential does allow for a huge amount to be put towards loans and mortgage and I know some folks who did that, then switched to part-time, or started doing locums which allows them to travel.

 

[Osteoth]

I have many many friends that are hospitalists and have yet to have someone who is required to stay till the end of their shift, or who are so busy (save those who ask for the extra pts for the RVU), that they are there for the full 12 hours.

If someone is consistently having to do that then they need to re-evaluate how they work.

The few jobs I have heard of (and ran away from) that required in-house coverage from the IM team usually involved a different person being the one who stayed, while everyone else left.

I used to work the admission shift which was 10a-10p and hence could never (rightfully) leave early.
The bonuses were awesome, and I used the 1st year to pay down my house a great extent.
Changed to rounding, bonuses fell by half, but home at 3, max 4 pm (and noon-ish on weekends) so then getting paid for hours that I am actually home with the occasional Epic text message for something minor.

The income potential does allow for a huge amount to be put towards loans and mortgage and I know some folks who did that, then switched to part-time, or started doing locums which allows them to travel.

Comp ranges for admitting and rounding?

I’ve heard a lot of the big groups (team health, comp health etc) make you stay. True or false?

 

[FutureInternist]

Comp ranges for admitting and rounding?

I’ve heard a lot of the big groups (team health, comp health etc) make you stay. True or false?

The base is same - 270,000.

The RVU is where the longer admit hours pay off, cos everything is a level 2 or 3.

Based on our RVU, I would need to do 6 level 3s or 8 level 2s to get to threshold and everything after that went towards bonus.

“Make you stay”? - every contract I’ve signed has had a 3 month clause where each party has to give that much notice - barring certain things that prompt immediate termination.
If its your first contract with them then you will likely have a sign-on bonus which would have to be repaid (pro-rated) if you left within the first (usually) 3 years

 

[Osteoth]

The base is same - 270,000.

The RVU is where the longer admit hours pay off, cos everything is a level 2 or 3.

Based on our RVU, I would need to do 6 level 3s or 8 level 2s to get to threshold and everything after that went towards bonus.

“Make you stay”? - every contract I’ve signed has had a 3 month clause where each party has to give that much notice - barring certain things that prompt immediate termination.
If its your first contract with them then you will likely have a sign-on bonus which would have to be repaid (pro-rated) if you left within the first (usually) 3 years

No I mean require in person 12 hours

 

[CCM-MD]

Round and go while getting paid for 12 hour shifts is nice but employers aren’t dumb. Especially corporate groups. They are here to make money. Get read for more jobs that are 16 x 8 hour shifts etc. my place is transitioning to this.

 

[FutureInternist]

Round and go while getting paid for 12 hour shifts is nice but employers aren’t dumb. Especially corporate groups. They are here to make money. Get read for more jobs that are 16 x 8 hour shifts etc. my place is transitioning to this.

It helps when you have old farts, or lazy folks or just plain disorganized folks who are still seeing pts at 5-6 pm 😏

 

[FutureInternist]

No I mean require in person 12 hours

Oh Sorry… see above comment

 

[vanillaface1]

The base is same - 270,000.

The RVU is where the longer admit hours pay off, cos everything is a level 2 or 3.

Based on our RVU, I would need to do 6 level 3s or 8 level 2s to get to threshold and everything after that went towards bonus.

“Make you stay”? - every contract I’ve signed has had a 3 month clause where each party has to give that much notice - barring certain things that prompt immediate termination.
If its your first contract with them then you will likely have a sign-on bonus which would have to be repaid (pro-rated) if you left within the first (usually) 3 years

Where is this kind of job, roughly? sounds like a pretty good gig. Like 30-60 mins from a city? Midwest? The jobs I've seen in a med sized southeast city (250k pop) has been either 180k semi chill at academic center or 250k plus up to 90k bonus but work like a dog at the private hospital (an no-one makes less than 300k). Im wondering where are the in-between jobs.

 

[FutureInternist]

Where is this kind of job, roughly? sounds like a pretty good gig. Like 30-60 mins from a city? Midwest? The jobs I've seen in a med sized southeast city (250k pop) has been either 180k semi chill at academic center or 250k plus up to 90k bonus but work like a dog at the private hospital (an no-one makes less than 300k). Im wondering where are the in-between jobs.

Where Bugs Bunny should have made a left turn

 

[DrSnips]

There are also other gigs that are Mon-Fri 8-10 hr shifts plus occasional weekend coverage (depending on how many are in the group to rotate weekends). Some places will also have resident or midlevel coverage of patients to help with some of the more scutty work like writing notes, placing orders, calling consults, calling families, etc....

This is what I have and it's pretty sweet. Only work 10 weekends a year. No nights ever. Always have resident or midlevel coverage so I can leave when done rounding.

7 on / 7 off is going the way of the dodo. I think it will be in the minority of hospitalist schedules 10 years from now.

 

[CCM-MD]

This is what I have and it's pretty sweet. Only work 10 weekends a year. No nights ever. Always have resident or midlevel coverage so I can leave when done rounding.

7 on / 7 off is going the way of the dodo. I think it will be in the minority of hospitalist schedules 10 years from now.

It may not be 7 on/off but someone has to work the 52 weekends. Hospital isn’t closed on weekends. Round and go is a gift and a curse. Administrators will love to pay you for a shorter shift. My place did this exact thing some time ago: just switched from 12 hour shifts to 8 hour shifts for the rounders. Sure round and go, but now you gotta work more shifts for the same compensation.

 

[DrSnips]

It may not be 7 on/off but someone has to work the 52 weekends. Hospital isn’t closed on weekends. Round and go is a gift and a curse. Administrators will love to pay you for a shorter shift. My place did this exact thing some time ago: just switched from 12 hour shifts to 8 hour shifts for the rounders. Sure round and go, but now you gotta work more shifts for the same compensation.

Yeah, nothing's perfect, but I feel I have it pretty good. The compensation is enough to afford the lifestyle I want, so time is worth more than money at this point. I could see where others with a lot of debt (or the need to live lavishly) might see other options as more favorable.

 

[Osteoth]

Yeah, nothing's perfect, but I feel I have it pretty good. The compensation is enough to afford the lifestyle I want, so time is worth more than money at this point. I could see where others with a lot of debt (or the need to live lavishly) might see other options as more favorable.

Or more HCOL

 

[Splenda88]

This is what I have and it's pretty sweet. Only work 10 weekends a year. No nights ever. Always have resident or midlevel coverage so I can leave when done rounding.

7 on / 7 off is going the way of the dodo. I think it will be in the minority of hospitalist schedules 10 years from now.

I don't think I can go back working M-F 8-5pm...

I think there are more people that like the 7 on/off than... I, myself, like the 7 on/off. For instance, I am taking 2 wks unpaid off next year, and it will be like taking (3 wks) x2 off.

 

[DrSnips]

I don't think I can go back working M-F 8-5pm...

I think there are more people that like the 7 on/off than... I, myself, like the 7 on/off. For instance, I am taking 2 wks unpaid off next year, and it will be like taking (3 wks) x2 off.

Yeah, I still feel like with 7 on / 7 off it's not worth all the weekends I'd miss with my wife. If she were also a hospitalist with the same schedule then maybe it'd be worth it.

 

[Splenda88]

I almost decided to not do fellowship and become a hospitalist last year before submitting ERAS. I think the draw of hospitalist is more for the younger crowd. I can't speak for PCP vs hospitalist but for any of the higher paying IM-subspecialties, the following factors would put them > hospital medicine:

1. Schedule - 7 on 7 off is great when you are young and single, but if you have kids, that means you are going to miss half the weekends, holidays, etc
2. Money - While making 300k is nice for just 3 years of training, the financial head start hospitalists have only lasts for 5-7 years, even if assuming you invest a substantial portion of income, before outpatient subspecialists catch up and surpasses exponentially
3. The work - Dealing with bread and butter medicine and dispo issues can be easy right out of residency because we are used to this, but I think 10+ years down the road, hospitalists may get bored of their work or feel like a cog in the system. Having to always answer to admin regarding why patients aren't being discharged and etc can also take a toll.
4. Personal health - This applies more-so to nocturnists or hospitalists who have to rotate with some nights mixed in. As a resident, I moonlighted many nights for that extra money but it took a big toll on my personal health. Even as a pre-30 year old, I was experiencing issues with sleep deprivation, GERD, concentration issues, etc. I can't imagine having to sustain that kind of lifestyle after training.

10 yrs down the road, I will be semi retired...working ~8 days/month.

I am 4+ months in right now, and I think the job is ok and I dont think will sign up for outpatient PCP anytime soon. I already took 3 small trips and plan to take 1 full one (15 days) and 2 more small ones (5 days) in the next 6 months.

Hospital medicine is good if one can find the right setting. If you are single or have a stay at home spouse, that is the job for you @Osteoth

 

[DO2015CA]

10 yrs down the road, I will be semi retired...working ~8 days/month.

I am 4+ months in right now, and I think the job is ok and I dont think will sign up for outpatient PCP anytime soon. I already took 3 small trips and plan to take 1 full one (15 days) and 2 more small ones (5 days) in the next 6 months.

Hospital medicine is good if one can find the right setting. If you are single or have a stay at home spouse, that is the job for you @Osteoth

What is your overall satisfaction. I know you said it’s OK. Just curious if it’s better or worse than what you expected.

 

[Splenda88]

What is your overall satisfaction. I know you said it’s OK. Just curious if it’s better or worse than what you expected.

My overall satisfaction is better than expected. I would have been ok with 5/10, but pleasantly surprise with 7/10 as of now. Things can always change for the worse, however. Overall, my job is good (but not great).

I would have said it's great if they were paying me 430k+/yr, and I could leave at 4pm instead of 6:15 pm

 

[DO2015CA]

My overall satisfaction is better than expected. I would have been ok with 5/10, but pleasantly surprise with 7/10 as of now. Things can always change for the worse, however. Overall, my job is good (but not great).

I would have called great if they were paying me 430k/yr, and I can go home at 4pm instead of 6:15 pm

That’s good to hear. Most of us stuck in finishing the grind of residency just lost hope with covid lol. Attendings online seem less satisfied than before covid making things worse. I would also be happy with 5-6/10.

 

[Splenda88]

That’s good to hear. Most of us stuck in finishing the grind of residency just lost hope with covid lol. Attendings online seem less satisfied than before covid making things worse. I would also be happy with 5-6/10.

You should definitely be able to find a setting where you are seeing 17-18 patients (close ICU, no procedures, no codes) with 0-1 admit per day that pay you 270-300k/yr if you are willing to sacrifice location (aka big cities). There are plenty of hospitalist jobs like that out there.

Just help a SDN poster who reached out to me via PM to get one that pays close to 310k (located 45 mins from one of the biggest metro in the south)

 

[DO2015CA]

You should definitely be able to find a setting where you are seeing 17-18 patients (close ICU, no procedures, no codes) with 0-1 admit per day that pay you 270-300k/yr if you are willing to sacrifice location (aka big cities). There are plenty of hospitalist jobs like that out there.

Just help a SDN poster who reached out to me via PM to get one that pays close to 310k (located 45 mins from one of the biggest metro in the south)

Haha not for me fam. Peds.

 

[sloh]

You should definitely be able to find a setting where you are seeing 17-18 patients (close ICU, no procedures, no codes) with 0-1 admit per day that pay you 270-300k/yr if you are willing to sacrifice location (aka big cities). There are plenty of hospitalist jobs like that out there.

Just help a SDN poster who reached out to me via PM to get one that pays close to 310k (located 45 mins from one of the biggest metro in the south)

What’s the metro rate you’ve seen?

 

[Splenda88]

What’s the metro rate you’ve seen?

I have seen anywhere from 1.2k to 1.6k

 

[kaycee18]

Hello guys,
Has any job asked for 5 references with 2 of those references coming from previous 2 jobs PD? A hospital system expects me to give them references from my current job (which I have been at for more than 2 years) and from my previous jobs. Anyone seeing this trend? How should I respond? I really don't have references from my previous job that I left over 2 years ago.

 

[IMGASMD]

Hello guys,
Has any job asked for 5 references with 2 of those references coming from previous 2 jobs PD? A hospital system expects me to give them references from my current job (which I have been at for more than 2 years) and from my previous jobs. Anyone seeing this trend? How should I respond? I really don't have references from my previous job that I left over 2 years ago.

It maybe formality. It maybe something you can just get a letter from the program secretary. It maybe something if you just talk to the hospitalist director about, it’ll just be something simple they sent a form to your pervious jobs.

5 is excessive I think. I’ve used my co-residents as peer references before. I’ve only had my PD vouch for me for my first job, then after that it’s just from my colleagues, never from “higher ups”.