Got offered an outpatient endoscopy position at the surgery center across town. Four 10s, Monday through Thursday, no weekends, no holidays, no nights. Ever. It's about a $4/hr cut from what I make now in the ED with my diff and weekend option added in.
Seven years in emergency and I'm not burnt out exactly, I still like it most days. But my kids are 6 and 9 and I've missed a lot. My husband says take it. Part of me feels like I'd lose my skills in a year and never be able to come back.
For anyone who made the jump to GI or any procedural outpatient area, did you get bored? Did you regret it? And did the pay cut actually hurt as much as it looked on paper once you weren't paying for weekend childcare?
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Post replyReading this while my manager just announced holiday rotation is going from every third to every other. Seven years in and I still don't know what Christmas morning looks like at my own house. Take the job.
Does that $4 assume you'd actually pick up the weekend option every time? Also ask how often their last cases run late. Some centers say four 10s and it ends up being four 11.5s.
Your kids are 6 and 9 exactly once. The ED will still be there.
Did this after 9 years in the ED. The first three months I was honestly bored out of my mind and almost went back. Then it clicked that I was home for dinner every night and coaching my son's soccer on Saturdays. Once we dropped the weekend sitter, the pay cut was maybe $150 a month in real life. Zero regrets four years in.
Gonna be the other voice here. I left the ED for outpatient for two years and coming back was rough. Triage felt foreign and my speed was gone. Not saying don't take it, just don't assume the door back is as wide open as it looks right now.