VetRelief Forum

[lovnlife]

Can anyone give me an idea of what they are charging in the Bay area, and what type of daily rate structure they are utilizing? (ie, 8hr shift including pd lunch break, hourly, etc) My husband's job is likely to move us there in the next few months. Also, what times of year are busiest and slowest.

Thanks,
Dawn Parker, DVM, MBA

[Dr Tenney]

I do not recommend a "going rate" for relief work. With that said, to derive a reasonable introductory fee to charge a hospital consider your personality skills, your income generation abilities, medical and surgical experience, as well as your professional demeanor and personal appearance

Hospitals located in metropolitan areas like SF & the East Bay pay more than ones in rural areas. Holidays, major conferences, and summer are at peak demand for relief work.
_________________
Roger Tenney, DVM
Site Administrator
**VetRelief Forum

[Guest]

I am a Veterinarian that moved to the Northwest Raleigh area from Augusta,
Maine. I found your e-mail address in the NC Veterinary Medical Association
newsletter. I am so new to the area and have very little knowledge as to
what the veterinary market is like. I am interested in relief work but I
have no idea what to expect.
Is there a lot of work for relief veterinarians in the Research Triangle
Area?
What can a relief veterinarian expect to make by hourly or shift rate?
In Maine it ranged form $40- 45/ hour with a 7 hour minimum. A little more
for emergency work and even more for overnight emergency shifts. Range
$625-750/ 15 hour shift. Some veterinarians charged a travel fee of .30
cents a mile over 25 miles away. Of course the veterinarian carried his/her
own liability insurance.
Can you please call me or e-mail me with some insight to these questions?
Your help will be greatly appreciated.

[Dr Tenney]

A relief veterinarian bid $60 per hour plus hotel & mileage on a job posted for a clinic on Long Island. The practice owner replied and said, "DVM wanted top dollar plus clinic pays HOTEL and Car fare...
Nice deal if you can get it!!"

What do you think? Please post your reply.
_________________
Roger Tenney, DVM
Site Administrator
**VetRelief Forum

[Hughes]

OK. I admit it before I even start. I am prejudiced and side with the relief vet in this situation. Everyone wants to make a nice profit and I can hear the practice owner grumbling about how much extra it will cost him to go on vacation/ to a conference/ or whatever.

I am a practice owner, too. My practice is a Relief Practice. And one of the reasons I do it is to make a nice living (translation = Business Profits). Unfortunately, I realize that when I take a vacation/ go to a conference/ or whatever I am bringing in absolutely nothing and need to make up for it when I work by charging the proverbial top dollar.

Housing. One approach is to charge by the day (or job) and roll the cost of the housing on top. So instead of charging $60/ hour for a ten hour day ($600) plus housing… you now charge $725 or $4400 for a six day job (depending on how you want to charge) to cover your hourly rate plus food and lodging. Another approach, which has worked quite well for me is an amicable agreement to stay at the owner’s house and a daily rate. This alleviates the need for housing costs.

Saying all this, I also charge top dollar, premium rate, or whatever you want to call it when I am overnight. The reasoning?
1. If I need to cover emergencies, I am essentially on call all night. To me this extra time is worth extra money.
2. I can usually make my normal daily rate around home and have the benefit of being home with my wife in the evenings and sleeping in my own bed. If I accept a job away from home it is worth a premium to me.

It all comes down to basics. If it costs me more to accept a distant job than I could reasonably make staying around home it is not worth it to me. There are several reasons why I work as a relief vet and like to work as a relief vet. Adequate compensation is one of them. And there are times when it does cost the practice owner more than pocket change to hire a covering doctor.

Sean Hughes

[John Quick DVM]

I am in the San Francisco Bay area. Here I have found that $450 to 500 a day is accepted readily by practices.
I charge 750 on weekday nights for emergency work and 850 on weekend shifts. Have found more resistance to those emergency rates in the L.A. area, where owners try for 100 to 200 less per shift, depending on location and owner personality.
There is always room for negotiation and one needs to account for all costs, including time and travel. If I do not reclaim my practice I may use relief work as a basis for travelling and staying in desirable places for my personal desires. It could be a good way to see and learn about new places.
(I have owned my own practice for over 20 years and am doing felief work due to divorce complications, so I have a relatively broad perspective).
John N Quick DVM

[lovnlife]

Thank you Dr. Tenney, and Dr. Quick,

Any other vets out there that can share the rates that are being charged in the San Francisco Bay area? Dr. Quick, do you charge that rate for an 8hr day? Including lunch? What is your OT rate, if any? Weekend rates? Thanks for any help!

If anyone has had experience with getting the reciprocity license in California, I would love to ask a few questions relating to that as well if you can email me privately at lovnlife16@yahoo.com. I'm taking the exam, so should have my temp license shortly.

Thanks,
Dr. Parker
Foster City, California[/img][/quote]

[Dr Tenney]

I just had a recent run-in with the California Veterinary Medical Board regarding a veterinarian temporarily licensed. Shall we start a new and separate topic? California reciporcity, temporary licensure, and relief work?
_________________
Roger Tenney, DVM
Site Administrator
**VetRelief Forum

[lovnlife]

Dr. Tenney,

That would be great!

Dr. Parker

[Dr. Parker]

A year or so ago AAA announced the cost of operating a car to be .52/mile. That's a car, not a truck or SUV. Shouldn't we be charging mileage? I recently drove 2.5 hrs for a day job. That was 5 hrs on the road and 8 hrs in the clinic. What was I thinking? .52/mile wasn't enough to cover wear and tear and time. What are people charging to work in rural Michigan?

[GJC]

Eastern Mass. $65.00/hour with a $5.00 lease rate/hour. It is funny that the relief vets in this region tend to give their services away ( ~ $40-45). This is a joke when a message is $60.00/hour. I have no problem booking dates --- I work as much as I want and continually turn down jobs. I generate an above average client transaction. Owners in this region that are concerned with this rate tend to have outdated practice philos., pricing schedules and poorly presented clinics. This service that we provide is most likely worth even more. Get what your worth, we are doctors for goodness sake!!!

Hint: Ask what you generate/day......shoot for % in between 27-30.

[rjb4474]

Wisconsin area
I charged 60/hr, with a one-way trip charge. I was in the middle - typical rates were 40-80/hr in Wisconsin. I worked al-l-l the time, so I don't believe that was in anyway excessive. However, I always did my best to 'make money' for the practice owner. And the best way to do that? Practice the best medicine you know how!
_________________
Jim Brown,DVM
RARC
University of Wisconsin

[cbralick]

I see that this topic is older but I would like to ask a question for the releif vets. I am a volunteer with an animal welfare group trying to reduce the pet overpopulation in my area (northern Indiana). A non-profit organization told me they pay vets a rate of $40.00 per hour - the cost of a relief vet. Has anyone worked in the northern part of Indiana as a relief vet? If so, can you tell me what the rate would be? Do you accept a rate lower than your normal one for a non-profit?

[beanbag60]

Having practiced since 1975 and worked in various situation, including owning my practice and a commercial building, I find it disturbing to hear the choice to be a contractor, and not an employee. Having been injured on the job, having little influence over technicians and other employees, and having to pay the cost of being a contractor, make me prefer to be an employee... no contest!
A few years ago (2006) I could get $75/ hour in Baltimore and DC area, with no problem. Now there is a glut of hungry new graduates, and I can only get $65/hour or $550/day and the day is often 12 hours. Still, I work for the satisfaction, and I would do it for fun and the satisfaction, except that would not be fare to the new graduates with so much school debt.
I still love my work. The best work and the worst work, I have had has been for animal shelters.
I am happy to find a place to communicate. Vet work is much better than it was 30 years ago.... believe it or not!