10 Reasons to Use flipMD for Your Physician Side Hustle

As a doctor still in residency, I’m all about physician side gigs.

Every doc has their own reasons for wanting to earn extra money, and mine are pretty simple. Between my mortgage, medical school debt, daycare expenses, and deep desire to eat things other than ramen, my residency salary just isn’t enough.

That’s why my wife and I started flipMD. To help doctors who need or want some extra cash to find flexible consulting gigs that put their talents to good use. The consulting I’ve done through flipMD has been a game-changer for us financially, which is one obvious reason to use it to find a physician side hustle.

There’s dozens of different reasons that thousands of doctors have signed up with flipMD, though. I’m sharing what I think are the top ten reasons doctors consult with us.

10 reasons to use flipMD

1. Get paid. Whether you’re looking to earn extra income as a practicing physician or to replace your income and day job entirely, flipMD can make it happen. Some physicians choose to consult sparingly, maybe just doing one little job a month to cover their car payment. Others have liked consulting so much that they’re taking a break from clinical medicine to consult full time.
2. Skip the malpractice insurance. Unlike joining or starting a practice to raise your earning potential, consulting with flipMD doesn’t come with the huge cost of malpractice insurance. That's because we don’t host any clinical jobs on our platform, so you can breathe easy knowing that the risk is pretty low (and if you’re really set on extra clinical work, check out our recent blog on moonlighting).
3. Network, network, network. Whether your ultimate goal is to stay in clinical medicine forever or move to the commercial side, it always helps to network. With flipMD, you could meet top docs working in your specialty or desired field on the other side of the country, or the head of the next big medical device company, or both.
4. Discover a flexible schedule. We’ve made it our mission to gather tons of side gigs for you to choose from. That gives you the freedom to pick gigs that work well for your hectic schedule. So no 5AM pre-rounds, and no work on the weekends if that’s not your thing.
5. Explore other interests. Many of us in medicine have a variety of passions and interests. We also have a ton of knowledge in biochemistry seared in our brains that we may never end up using at our day job. My point is that working in non-clinical areas of medicine allows you to practice and revisit your other interests and areas of expertise, all while getting paid.
6. Build your resume. Consulting can help you stand out from the competition when applying for a fellowship or attending job. That's because it shows skills like time-management and ambition, to name a few. Plus, sharing about how you worked with a team developing a robotic leg is a pretty solid conversation starter for an interview.
7. Start and stop as you please. There are no minimum time commitments or anything like that on flipMD. You can apply to take on as many or as few jobs as you want, and you can log out and come back any time. We'll be here!
8. Become a business owner. Lots of companies on flipMD offer consultants equity as part of their compensation package. That means that you could actually own part of a cutting-edge business in medicine. And do you know what owners get? Profits. Sweet, sweet profits.
9. Sharpen your writing skills. Writing is not like riding a bike. If you don't practice it regularly (and no, your clinical notes  don't really count), it's a skill that wears down over time. flipMD has lots of gigs that allow physician consultants to practice their writing, which comes in handy when it's time to write about the awesome research you did in residency.
10. Make a difference. Yup, I saved the best for last. Some of the most innovative and hardest working companies in medicine have chosen flipMD to find physician consultants for their projects. That means that you could be working for a medical startup that’s developing a new ventricular assist device, or a pharma company that’s working to get better pediatric oncologic therapies on the market. Your clinical work at your day job is of course critically important, but consulting can give you an opportunity to change thousands of lives in a day's work, and all from the comfort of your own home.

There you have it. Ten reasons that physicians in every speciality and sub-speciality in the country have chosen to consult through flipMD. Still wondering if it's the right gig for you? Check out what some of our consultants are saying!