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Side Gigs for Rheumatologists

Updated: Nov 25

Over the years, we’ve seen countless requests for side hustle ideas for doctors in specific specialties in our Physician Side Gigs Facebook group. We continue our series of unique side gigs by specialty with side gigs for rheumatologists. If you aren’t in rheumatology and want to learn more about side gigs for your specialty, check out our page of side gig ideas for different specialties. If your specialty hasn’t been featured yet, follow the series on Instagram, where we’ve featured more specialties.


Disclosure/Disclaimer: Our content is for generalized educational purposes.  While we try to ensure it is accurate and updated, we cannot guarantee it. You should do your own due diligence before making decisions based on this page. To learn more, visit our disclaimers and disclosures.


Ideas for side gigs for rheumatologists, including clinical research, medical surveys, consulting, and telemedicine.


Side Gigs for Rheumatologists


Clinical research


As a field with lots of ongoing research, drug development, and trials, there are many opportunities for rheumatologists to get involved in clinical research and contribute to advancements in medicine. These could be as a side gig, a main gig, or as an ancillary income stream for your private practice. As the landscape evolves, there is a large push for research outside of major medical centers such as within private practices and other independent sites, as this offers greater demographic diversity and access to patients at different stages of their journey. Additionally, many rheumatologists appreciate the ability to offer new therapeutic options to patients in need of alternatives to existing treatment options. 


Physicians in private practice can establish a research site at their practice and operate as the principal investigator (PI). While setting up a trial site at your practice can take some upfront effort to establish, it offers the potential for significant revenue, as well as convenience for your patients. There are companies that will help you establish a site, many of whom also provide staffing and compliance support, along with other services, to lower the upfront investment and learning curve. They offer ongoing manpower and expertise to allow you to focus mostly on the clinical aspects of running these programs.


Opportunities also exist for physicians interested in working at an established third-party site as a PI or sub-investigator.


Compensation varies depending on your role/setup and each specific study, but this side gig can be highly lucrative and can offer the flexibility to scale with multiple trials.


Related PSG resources:



Paid medical surveys


Paid medical surveys are one of the most flexible side gig options for rheumatologists, and for the same reasons as mentioned above with clinical research, rheumatologists tend to be in high demand for medical survey companies. This side gig allows you to leverage your expertise while helping influence future advancements in healthcare. Surveys can be as short as a few minutes (or be longer but be completed at your convenience), allowing you to pick up side gig work whenever you have a few spare minutes of time in your schedule, such as in between patients or in the evening after the kids are asleep.


While not all physicians qualify for each survey (and most companies don’t pay if you get screened out of a survey), rheumatology is a specialty that tends to have more opportunities, and often more lucrative opportunities. Signing up with multiple, reputable companies can offer more opportunities to find legitimate studies with ease.


Compensation varies by study and depending on the volume you’re interested in. While surveys won’t pay at a comparable rate to your clinical work, rheumatologists in our online physician community have reported making multiple five-figure annual incomes with this side gig given the demand for their opinions in this space.


Related PSG resources:



Consulting


Similar to medical surveys, companies may want to hire rheumatologists for more in depth conversations or consultations. This is typically much more lucrative than medical surveys, and a side gig that many of our physician members enjoy. Not only does it offer a way to use your clinical experience and medical knowledge to help shape future advancements, but it can also be highly flexible, including offering remote roles. 


Pay is often either a stipend on a per project basis or an hourly rate for a given role.


Related PSG resources:



Telemedicine


Telemedicine is a popular side gig option, as it provides a great way to expand your clinical practice for additional revenue with increased flexibility. Demand for remote care continues to rise as patients look for flexible scheduling and availability of care as well.


Rheumatologists can partner with established telehealth platforms or can establish their own independent practice with the help of HIPAA-compliant solutions. While establishing your own platform can provide a higher level of flexibility, it will likely require upfront costs and additional time on the administrative side, though ongoing overhead costs are generally low. There are numerous third-party platforms available as well, with varying compensation, required minimum hours, and responsibilities. We recommend carefully vetting every opportunity you consider.


If you’re considering working with an existing platform, check how malpractice insurance is covered. If you’re interested in starting your own telemedicine side gig independently, we have a malpractice insurance solution for telemedicine available with a member perk if you need it!


Related PSG resources:



Infusion centers


Establishing an in-office infusion center or working at an established center enables rheumatologists to develop additional revenue streams either for their practice or as a side gig. Infusion centers often look for physicians for medical director and consulting roles. Responsibilities may include overseeing the clinical aspects of the center, ensuring safe practices for patient care, helping resolve patient complaints, and maintaining regulatory and compliance standards. Having an in-house infusion center with your private practice can provide an ancillary income stream for your practice while providing additional care and convenience to patients (and providing an opportunity to grow your existing patient panel).


Medical director roles are often full-time nonclinical careers for large centers, but part-time side gig work can exist. Word of mouth can help find opportunities, as well as searching job boards.


Starting an in-house infusion center can require upfront capital and may require additional staffing, staff training, and office space, but it can also offer higher potential upsides for revenue.



Startup advising


Working as a physician advisor for a healthcare startup can be an exciting side gig opportunity for rheumatologists interested in helping advance innovation with a long-term consulting role.  Startups seek out medical experts to help develop and refine their products, to determine their potential target market audience, and to help navigate market challenges (as just a few examples!).


Roles may be project-based or ongoing, depending on the needs of the company and your level of interest in involvement. Pay depends on the type of arrangement, and may include stock options or other equity in the company, especially for ongoing advisory board positions.


These side gig opportunities may be more difficult to find, as companies often proactively seek out experts in the field. Networking at health tech conferences or establishing yourself as an expert through other side gig work such as an influencer can help you build these connections for potential opportunities.


When entering a longstanding advisory role, it’s important to vet the opportunity to ensure you align with the company’s product/mission.


Related PSG resources:



Medical writing


Medical writing can be a great side gig opportunity for rheumatologists interested in educating patients who are looking for a highly flexible side gig. Multiple types of opportunities can exist, such as writing CME materials, creating patient education resources, or developing materials for pharmaceutical companies or medical organizations. You may also consider starting your own blog as you work to establish yourself as an influencer, though this typically doesn’t offer a direct path to immediate monetization.


When working with companies or organizations, this side gig can often be done on a piece-by-piece basis, allowing you to pick up as much (or as little) additional income as desired. While projects will likely come with a delivery deadline, they are remote and offer flexibility of working around your clinical schedule and other commitments. Compensation can vary, with companies often paying by word or by article for a targeted word count range.


Physicians who enjoy this side gig also have the opportunity to leverage it long term into broader roles and opportunities, such as nonclinical roles in medical communications or even publishing a book.


Related PSG resources:



Educator


Rheumatologists who enjoy teaching and educating (of patients and/or other clinicians) can find additional opportunities for side gig income and experience that let them share their wealth of knowledge. Roles can range widely depending on your interests and availability including:

  • Adjunct faculty roles teaching medical students or residents

  • Grand round & CME lectures at hospitals, society events, and conferences

  • Developing online courses or educational modules, either for your own brand or for an educational platform or organization

  • Writing for educational websites for patients and the general public


Compensation can also vary greatly depending on the specific opportunity, with some presentations offering stipends and/or incentives versus a direct compensation payment if you’re just starting out. The more experience you have, especially with speaking roles, the more leverage you may have to negotiate better rates.


Related PSG resources:



Influencer


An increasingly popular way rheumatologists choose to educate is by building up a brand as a physician influencer. This is a great option for outgoing physicians with excellent communication skills who are tech savvy and up to date with social media trends (or are willing to learn). With the growing trend of looking for medical advice online, especially through sites like TikTok, you can provide the general public with trusted, reliable insights on topics ranging from understanding and managing autoimmune diseases to diabetes prevention and management to answering frequently asked questions from patients. A variety of topics exist, so choose one you’re passionate and knowledgeable about that you will enjoy.


This side gig requires a lot of upfront investment, particularly of time, but can lead to many forms of revenue after you’ve built up a following. Options include paid ad placements on content, sponsored content for companies, affiliate marketing arrangements, and brand partnerships.


Building a following can also lead to other side gig opportunities, such as speaking engagements, coaching, or advisory roles. It also builds up a stockpile of content you can later package and monetize through avenues such as online courses or a book publishing deal.


Related PSG resources:



Chart review


Chart review is another flexible side gig that allows rheumatologists to use their medical expertise outside of the clinical setting. These opportunities typically involve reviewing medical records for groups such as insurance companies, law firms, hospital systems, or utilization review companies. There are a variety of roles, depending on the type of work that interests you, including:

  • Independent medical evaluations (IMEs)

  • Expert witness work

  • Utilization management work

  • Disability and workers’ compensation evaluations, including QME work


These opportunities vary in terms of time commitment and pay. Some, such as utilization management gigs, may be available fully remote, while others, such as disability and workers’ comp evaluations, will likely require an in-person component. Some companies have a minimum number of hours they’d like you available for, while others provide work on a case-by-case basis, allowing a high level of flexibility.


Related PSG resources:



Additional side hustle resources for rheumatologists


While we’ve outlined above some common side gig ideas for rheumatologists, there’s always room for creativity. If there’s something you’re passionate about and good at, look for ways to monetize it.


Dive deeper into some of the side gigs featured above, including:


Need inspiration? Join our Physician Side Gigs Facebook group and ask other rheumatologists what they’ve enjoyed as their side gig.


You can also explore the following to learn more about our:


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