Moonlighting vs. Night Float ?

[wowmd]

Hey guys, I'm new to this particular forum.
But what's the difference between moonlighting and night float?
I think i know what moonlighting is all about, but what is exactly a night float?
In FREIDA, I noticed that many hospital programs offer moonlighting, but they only offer night float STARTING in their 2nd year....

Can someone clear this for me?

[wolfvgang22]

I'd like to know, too.

[stephew]

Originally Posted by wowmd

Hey guys, I'm new to this particular forum.
But what's the difference between moonlighting and night float?
I think i know what moonlighting is all about, but what is exactly a night float?
In FREIDA, I noticed that many hospital programs offer moonlighting, but they only offer night float STARTING in their 2nd year....

Can someone clear this for me?

moonlighting: an "extra job" you take for money after your boarded with steps one-three

Nightfloat is usually your fellow residents on a rotation where they cover the floors inthe evening so you can sleep. Sometimes they higher a moonlighter to help out.

[wolfvgang22]

Thanks Steph. So, since I'm a total Newb at this and would like to make some money:
Do residents get paid for night float if they've passed the Step 2 but not step 3?

[teratos]

Nope. Night float is a rotation. It is a bunch of residents who are assigned to doing admissions at night. It is a rotation like ICU or the floor is a rotation.


Moonlighting...
A word that makes many people smile. This is a job that you do above and beyond your resident duties. Some programs allow residents to moonlight within the hospital where they are a resident. For this kind of moonlighting, you don't need to pass step 3 or be licensed.

Some people moonlight outside of the hospitals where they are residents. Those types of jobs will require you to pass step 3 and get a license.

BTW, all residents have to have passed step 2. You can't be a resident without that. G

[stephew]

Originally Posted by teratos

Nope. Night float is a rotation. It is a bunch of residents who are assigned to doing admissions at night. It is a rotation like ICU or the floor is a rotation.


Moonlighting...
A word that makes many people smile. This is a job that you do above and beyond your resident duties. Some programs allow residents to moonlight within the hospital where they are a resident. For this kind of moonlighting, you don't need to pass step 3 or be licensed.

Some people moonlight outside of the hospitals where they are residents. Those types of jobs will require you to pass step 3 and get a license.

BTW, all residents have to have passed step 2. You can't be a resident without that. G

as T> said, nightfloat is a rotation on residency you do for your dirt cheap labor. however sometimes peole hire thenselves out to suppliment night float systems. but as a part of your residency, no go; its a miserable few weeks but you appreciate the other remaining weeks of the year when nightfloat lets you go home and sleep at night. BTW many and even most residency programs discourage or dont allow moonlighting these days (80 work week limit is taken to include this if not offical by many prgorams) and IMGs can't until I (think) three years of residency in most if not all states. Im fuzzy on the specifics but anyway, you dont have the big bucks coming your way for a while tho.

[wowmd]

Now I think of it, that 80 hr labor rule thing sucks !!!

[nonstopdoc1]

by the way how much do they pay for moon lighting?

just approx.

is it per hour or what ?

[wowmd]

read the other posts...
The one doctor said around $65/hr...

[sean]

Agree on previous comments on night float vs. moonlighting. Interestingly enough, "home call or moonlighting" does not apply hour for hour to the 80 hr work week rule. Only the actual time spent in the hospital is counted. I recently finished residency (last year) and was heavily into moonlighting. In fact, I actually made more $ in my 3rd and 4th years than I do now as staff!!! Of course, I work half the hours now . Our program had 6 sites where we could moonlight at and so were in-house but most were "home (or hotel, in some cases) call". Most of it was pretty light ($40/hour) but we could cover whole weekends at a time (60 hours) as it was not on site call. Hope this helps.

Yours, S

Staff Shrink
Spartan Grad
Any State of the
U S A