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The side hustles that fit around a doctor's clinic hours are paid medical surveys, locum tenens shifts, expert witness review, medical writing and AI training. Surveys and AI training can be done from home in short blocks. Locums and expert work take more setup.
Read your employment contract before you start any of them. Some contracts ban outside work or claim the income.
Check Your Contract First
A 2012 article in The Hospitalist on physician contracts lays out the range. Some employers prohibit outside activities altogether. Others allow work that does not interfere with your duties. Some keep the right to approve each activity, and some require outside fees to be paid to the practice.
The article's advice is to name the outside activities you want to keep in the agreement itself.
Residents have extra rules. Under the ACGME requirements, moonlighting cannot interfere with training or patient safety, it counts toward the 80-hour weekly limit, and PGY-1 residents may not moonlight at all. Your program may be stricter.
This is general information, not legal advice. Have your contract reviewed if you are unsure.
Sources: The Hospitalist, outside activities in contracts, ACGME Common Program Requirements (Residency).
Side Hustles That Fit Around Clinic Hours
Paid Medical Surveys
Market research panels pay verified physicians to take part in studies. Here is how two of them work:
- Sermo requires a license or NPI check before you join, matches surveys to your specialty, states the honorarium and expected time up front, and pays by direct deposit, PayPal or gift card. It says participation is anonymized unless a survey says otherwise.
- M3 Global Research verifies your identity and license, matches studies to your profile and emails invitations. Studies can be online surveys, phone or video interviews, focus groups or chart studies, from 15 minutes to an hour or longer. It says pay depends on market demand and the time of year.
Surveys need specific profiles. Sermo notes that sponsors set screening criteria, so not every member qualifies for every survey.
Sources: Sermo, is Sermo legit (updated 2026-07-01), M3 Global Research, paid medical surveys for physicians.
Locum Tenens Shifts
Locum tenens means filling in for another physician for a while. An AMA article from February 2026 profiles an emergency physician who moonlighted at rural hospitals during residency before taking on locum work.
The same article lists the costs of doing it:
- Each new state needs its own license. The article points to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to speed this up.
- Each site has its own credentialing paperwork, which is unpaid.
- License and DEA fees add up.
- Every site means new protocols and a new EHR.
- Some weeks may have no confirmed work.
Surgeons on Reddit add their own cautions. Several said locum offers in general surgery were low for the responsibility, and that operating with unfamiliar staff, a new EHR and no follow-up after you leave adds stress and liability. Some roles are 1099 contracts with no benefits. Rates and demand vary a lot by specialty.
Sources: AMA, what locum tenens is like (2026), r/whitecoatinvestor thread.
Expert Witness Case Review
Physicians review cases and testify in legal and administrative proceedings. The AMA Code of Medical Ethics asks expert witnesses to stay within their own field, give an objective opinion, judge the standard of care as it stood at the time, describe their credentials truthfully, and never take a fee that depends on the outcome.
Sources: AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 9.7.1.
Medical Writing
Medical writers and editors work for research institutions, hospitals, medical education companies, publishers, drug and device companies, and health agencies. The American Medical Writers Association's New England chapter says some members freelance and some work full time.
Sources: AMWA New England chapter.
AI Training
AI companies pay physicians to write realistic cases and grade how AI models reason about them. Much of it is remote and part time. On 2026-10-13, Mercor‘s public feed listed physician projects such as these:
- A primary care documentation project asking for at least 10 hours a week through mid-November.
- A cardiology chart review project asking for 10 to 20 hours a week.
- A one-time, 30-minute paid survey for urologists and medical oncologists.
- Standing physician pools that invite you to projects as they open.
Most of these listings want current practice and an active US license. Screening starts with an AI interview that Mercor says usually takes about 20 minutes, and you can do a free practice run first.
Our guide to medical AI trainer jobs lists each role with its listed pay and explains the screening steps.
Sources: Mercor public job listings, 2026-10-13, Mercor AI interview.
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Which Side Hustle Fits Your Schedule
| Side hustle | Time it takes | What it asks of you |
|---|---|---|
| Paid medical surveys | 15 to 60+ minutes per study (M3) | License or NPI verification; your specialty must match the study |
| AI training | Projects from a single 30-minute survey to 10 to 20+ hours a week | Usually current practice and an active US license |
| Locum tenens | Shifts at another site | A license in each state, plus credentialing at each site |
| Expert witness review | Case by case | Recent, substantive experience in the field you testify on |
| Medical writing | Freelance or full time | Strong writing; employers range from publishers to drug companies |
Thinking of leaving clinical work altogether? Read non clinical jobs for physicians.
DigiNo earns a referral if you join Ethos or Mercor through our links. It does not change what we report.
Side Hustles for Doctors FAQ
What are the best side hustles for doctors with little free time?
Paid medical surveys and AI training projects can both be done from home in short blocks. Surveys run from 15 minutes to an hour or more, and some AI training projects ask for 10 hours a week.
Can my employer stop me from having a side hustle?
Possibly. Some physician contracts ban outside activities, some require approval, and some claim the income. Check your agreement, and have it reviewed if you are unsure.
Can residents have side hustles?
Residents need to follow ACGME and program rules. Moonlighting counts toward the 80-hour weekly limit and PGY-1 residents may not moonlight. Ask your program how it treats other outside work.
Can doctors do AI training work part time?
Yes. Physician AI training projects listed on 2026-10-13 included roles asking for 10 to 20 hours a week and one-time paid surveys. The AI Training Job Matcher on DigiNo points you to the right platform.
Medical AI Trainer Jobs for Doctors and Clinicians