Moonlighting in a university surgical training program.

Abstract

The impact of house officer moonlighting on training performance was assessed through a faculty questionnaire and house officer survey distributed in the Department of Surgery at Tulane University School of Medicine. Responses were obtained from 30 house officers and 15 faculty members. Most house officers who moonlighted did so one or two times each month; most were employed in emergency departments. Yearly earnings from moonlighting averaged approximately $10,000. Although many house officers were in debt from medical school, debt was not the primary reason for moonlighting. Many faculty members disapproved of moonlighting, but agreed to monitoring by clinical performance and American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination. A statistically significant relationship was found between yearly income from moonlighting and decreasing scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination.