Residents' views of the value of moonlighting

The opportunity for residents to moonlight is threatened by legal liability concerns and legislation designed to limit the duration of workdays and workweeks. We sought the opinion of all 40 second- or third-year residents and fellows in a hybrid university/community hospital internal medicine residency program regarding their motivation to moonlight and the value of their experiences. Sixty-five percent were moonlighters; moonlighters had a higher average debt ($41 644) than nonmoonlighters ($32 917). Residents viewed moonlighting as a positive educational experience that helped them with career decisions. They believed they acquired important skills and knowledge not learned elsewhere, and that moonlighting did not interfere with their job and educational responsibilities. A program in operation for 10 years that was designed to control, monitor, and facilitate moonlighting experiences is described. We believe our residents' positive views may be in part a result of the supervision and integration of moonlighting in a residency training program with a controlled workload.