9 Lucrative Side Gigs For Doctors and Nurses
Side gigs are a way to derive additional income — a practice has become very prominent since the pandemic. Indeed, a side hustle can be beneficial for several reasons: it can provide a financial cushion for rainy days, help you pursue a hobby, and might lead to translating said hobby into a full-time job.
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Yet, when it comes to professions such as doctors and nurses, it’s not immediately clear why they would pursue such an avenue.
But as many surveys have noted, healthcare professionals face a slew of challenges, chief among them being burnout.
In fact, a recent Medscape report found that 83% of doctors surveyed cited professional stress as the primary contributor to their burnout and/or depression.
The number of work-related bureaucratic tasks was cited as the primary reason for burnout. After that, spending too many hours at work and lack of respect from administrators, employers, and coworkers also were contributing factors.
In addition, the report found that 48% of the physicians surveyed felt their employers did not recognize the pervasiveness of burnout among their medical staff.
Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising that some of these healthcare professionals opt to go the side gig route.
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Paid Medical Surveys for Physicians
These can be flexible opportunities for additional income, and “a nice way to earn some extra cash just by providing your opinions or experiences,” according to Physicians Side Gigs (PSG).
“The nice thing about these is that they can be done on your own terms, without any commitments, and in relatively small periods of time,” PSG added.
Telehealth Nurse
Telehealth nursing is an evolving role that typically consists of providing healthcare services through video conferencing and online communication tools, as Trusted Health explained.
And with the surge in telehealth and telemedicine there are many opportunities for nurses.
Locum Tenens (filling temporary positions)
There is an increasing number of physicians considering this either as an additional income stream, as a transition to retirement, or as a way to start cutting back clinically while developing an entrepreneurial venture or other interests, according to PSG.
“The flexibility that locums offer is attractive to many, along with the possibility of more lucrative pay for a day’s work,” PSG added.
Vaccine or Immunization Nurse
Immunization nurses provide vaccinations to meet work, school, or public health requirements. This position is available for registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and the positions are often available in hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, according to Nurse Journal.
“Nurses can choose to work part time, seasonally, or as needed. Some good times to earn extra income as an immunization nurse are during or prior to flu season.
Physician Startup Advisor or Consultant
Consultants are typically brought in on a limited time basis to answer a specific question and are usually paid on an hourly or per-project basis. Consultants can be hired for more generic tasks, according to PSG.
Advisors, on the other hand, are generally ongoing roles and brought on because they have a specific skillset, qualification or brand that fits the company’s needs.
Expert Medical Witness
As Financial Residency explained, expert medical witnesses are compensated based on the nature of the task, as well as their specialty, and can be used for a variety of scenarios in and outside of the courtroom.
Clinical Research
According to PSG, “this can also be a great job for a physician looking to be employed by a clinical trials company and still be clinically involved, but in a less demanding way than a traditional clinical job.”
Medical Biller and Coder
This entails inputting invoice information, communicating with insurance providers and collecting payments, according to Nurse Journal.
Some of the benefits include that working hours are steady and predictable. Medical biller and coder jobs are available anywhere that offers medical services, providing easy access to either position, Nurse Journal added.
Medical Reviews
According to Financial Residency, the best place to get started with medical reviews is to research which companies employ medical reviewers.
“Once a company has you in its database, you’ll get solicitations for reviews. From there, you can decide how many you want to take on and how much you’ll accept for each one,” Financial Residency added, noting that because of the pay and flexibility, medical reviews can be a great non-clinical side hustle for physicians.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 9 Lucrative Side Gigs For Doctors and Nurses
