OVERVIEW

Salary & Benefits

Our residents are employed by the Oregon Health & Science University system. Salary is determined by the OHSU department of Graduate Medical Education. Currently, the salary is $45,600 $47,800 and $50,000 for each of the three years. Our OHSU benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance.

Residents are given an "allowance" from OHSU to cover the cost of group insurance programs sponsored by the university. OHSU's benefit package is referred to as UniversityFlex and allows each resident the freedom to choose from a variety of medical, dental, disability and life insurance options. The package also includes a dependent/life partner care flexible spending account. Residents are required to have medical insurance, whether it is provided by OHSU or through a separate plan. In addition, all residents are required to elect one of the OHSU-sponsored dental insurance plans and to select at least $5,000 in life insurance coverage. All other insurance coverages available through UniversityFlex are optional. Any portion of the allowance not used toward these benefits is added back to the resident's paycheck.

OHSU provides residents an opportunity to participate in a limited retirement plan on a voluntary basis, and there is no employer contribution. The plan allows residents to invest up to 20 percent of their salary or $10,000 per year, whichever is less, in tax-deferred annuities and mutual funds.

In addition to the above, second and third year residents enjoy $1,000 per year of CME money that can be applied to conference expenses, books or for other educational purposes. Fees associated with courses such as ACLS, ALSO, NRP, PALS and USMLE exams are covered by the program. Application for state licensure is covered. A few residents who will be staffing our California clinics will also receive a California state license.

Residents are provided with lab coats, business cards, pagers, use of on-call rooms, meal tickets and daily lunches during noon conference. All residents receive a PDA and a laptop as an intern. Residents have home access to patient records, which can be a huge help when taking call from home as second and third years. Inpatient records, vitals, labs and reports are available via wireless access on PDAs and laptops. Electronic medical resources are widely used, and we offer UpToDate (a comprehensive evidence-based clinical information resource) and MD Consult on each computer in the clinic and hospital. Through our connection with OHSU, we also offer free access to Ovid Medline, numerous electronic journals, Cochrane Databases, ACP Journal Club and more.

There is no parking fee at Sky Lakes Medical Center or Cascades East. This, in and of itself, can represent a substantial savings over some university programs. Our residents earn the same salary as residents at OHSU in Portland, however, Klamath Falls has a much lower cost of living than in Portland and other large cities which helps to stretch a resident's salary.

Many housing opportunities exist, both to rent and to buy. Most residents pay $500-700 per month for rent. More than half of our residents end up buying homes during their residency. Most live within blocks, but some live "in the country" and have commute times of 5 to 10 minutes.

Residents have 3 weeks of vacation per year, which can be taken in one week blocks. Residency Review Committee guidelines specify the amount of training that residents must receive in each of the disciplines. This will limit which rotations, and ultimately when in the calendar year, residents may take vacation. There is an additional week of CME time available during second and third years.

Each fall, we sponsor a working retreat at a local mountain resort to address residency, clinic and training issues. This is also when we take the ABFM In-Training exam. We also have a number of social outings including an annual residency Mt. McLaughlin climb, annual white water rafting trip, a proposed winter ski trip and numerous picnics/events to welcome new residents in the summer.

Moonlighting

There are many opportunities to moonlight in Klamath Falls and in the surrounding communities. There are several urgent care centers in Klamath that often hire residents. A local Federally Qualified Health Center will also hire residents from time to time. Additionally, a few of the smaller communities within three hours of Klamath will hire residents to cover weekend shifts. The salary generally is $60 to $75 per hour. Residents may qualify to moonlight during their second and third year after having received their unlimited license.