Weekend moonlighting pay, APRN

Trauma Columnist · Jan 6, 2010

We get an extra $6000/year for weekend rounding which includes seeing our private practice (nephrology) pts, consults, h&Ps, discharges. An MD rounds behind us. This is for every 5th weekend so an average of 10-11 weekends/year.

core0 · Jan 6, 2010

I am one of 3 Oncology APRN's in a academic hospital setting. We have recently been offered a moonlighting "opportunity" for weekend coverage. They are asking us to cover the service (calls, rounding on the hospitalized patients (average census is about 10 patients), seeing new consults, admitting patients, etc.) from Friday evening through Sunday evening. For this they have proposed compensation at $1000 for the entire weekend. We have very little for comparison, and wonder if anyone could share their weekend call/moonlighting compensation. For comparison, we have from 6-20 years of APRN experience, the starting salary at our institution is about $84,000/yr. Thanks for your help!

The going rate around here for an inhouse shift is $75-100/hr. Less if you are on call. It really depends on the whats involved. How many admissions, and what you have to do. If you are looking at 4 or so hours of work per day plus some calls from the floor then its a pretty good deal. If you are doing 3-4 admissions per day plus some discharges and new consults then thats a different story. Also you have to be lay out the parameters. If you have a consult do you have a range of time to respond (ie four hours). Or do you have to drop what you are doing and come in right away? The second would require more than the first.

Basic math says you are putting an additional $17k or 20% of your salary in your pocket. If it takes 3-4 hours a day on the weekend then probably a good deal. If it requires spending 12+ hours per day plus being up all night not so much. The key here is to figure out what the real work load is (hint its not what the physicians think it is).

From experience there are a couple of other issues that you absolutely must iron out. All of the NPPs have to be invested. If one doesn't want to do it or is inflexible in shifting things around it won't work. Also three is at the bare minimum to do this. You have to iron out (in writing) what happens if someone quits. Then you go from 1:3 to every other weekend. Also put in a review term so that the model can be re-examined if the workload dramatically increases. Once you start getting the money and they start expecting you to do things its very hard to revert to a different model.

David Carpenter, PA-C