Moonlighting basically entails taking on paid work on top of my normal job. Our program restricts moonlighting hours to ~20 hours per month, so we remain focused on our fellowship at hand instead of lucrative opportunities to make extra money.
As an anesthesiology critical care fellow, I have privileges to moonlight in the intensive care unit (ICU) and operating room. Tonight is my first moonlighting shift, and I’m covering surgical/burn/trauma ICU patients. Although help is available (attending, other fellows, etc.), the idea of moonlighting is to be an autonomous provider. I’m the clinician overseeing these very sick patients, coordinating their care with other disciplines, and ultimately formulating their treatment plans. Lots of responsibility, but hey, it’s why I’m here! Plus some nights are lighter than others, so I’ll take those when I can. 🙂
When I moonlight in the operating room, sometimes I’ll be doing my own anesthetics and other times overseeing anesthesiology residents. I’m still waiting for my billing codes before I can officially rotate through the ORs, but for now, ICU moonlighting will suffice! 😀
