47. Know Your Worth: How I Made $12K in 24 Hours

Hey doc! To kick off 2025, I'm sharing a story on ✨Stethoscopes and Strollers✨ about value, boundaries, and negotiation that will transform how you approach opportunities this year.

We explore:

• The real value of your time and expertise
• Why quick "yes" responses cost you more than money
• How to evaluate opportunities beyond the paycheck
• Setting boundaries that honor your worth

Key strategies for 2025:

• Take time before responding to requests
• Consider the full cost of each "yes"
• Value your expertise appropriately
• Ask for what you deserve
• Remember your worth isn't just about money

This year, let's move beyond the pressure to say yes, the guilt about asking for more, and the doubt about our value. Whether you're negotiating salary, taking extra calls, or managing family commitments, your time and expertise deserve proper recognition.

Doc, make 2025 the year you fully embrace your worth - in medicine and beyond.

Remember to subscribe to "Stethoscopes and Strollers" on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode of encouragement and empowerment.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with me.

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Join my Email list to get tips on navigating motherhood in the medical field.

If you feel you need direct support or someone to talk through the unique challenges of being a physician mom, schedule a free coaching session.

Free Coaching Session with Dr. Toya

Transcript

Happy new year. It is 2025. I cannot believe it. I just wanted to see happy new year to you. And I recorded this episode a while ago, but I held it back because I want you to start 20, 25. . As the boss mama doc, that you are with this new mindset. And new way of thinking and moving through the world and this new year. 

So I hope you enjoy the episode and have a wonderful new beginning.

Hey doc, I want to tell you a story about the time that I made 12, 000 in 24 hours.  And yes, that is impressive. I know.  However, I don't want you to immediately log off and say, well, this doesn't apply to me. I don't do locums. I'm not an OB,  blah, blah, blah, blah.  I guarantee you, you need to hear this. Yeah. So. 

As you know, I am locums and I am OBGYN. I do hospitalist shifts only. I only work in Northern California because I don't want to travel very, very far.  I pride myself on being a master negotiator. I'm very I am very conscious of my worth as a physician, as an OBGYN, as an excellent  OBGYN. So I have been able to negotiate up my rates so that they are higher than most. 

But I also have been successful in negotiating incentives for last minute coverage and things like that. So this was one of those instances. You may remember from a couple episodes ago.  I talked about how I get out of overwhelm. This was part of the situation  that got me overwhelmed  and that's why I wanted to record this episode. 

So as a refresher, I Did one of my locum sites four shifts in one so I did two twelves and I only work nights So I did two twelves in a row. I had a day off and then I did two twelves I had never done that before it was terrible I was like, nope, never doing that again because this hospital is busy. So the most I'd ever done was three at a time And I had done three in a row before and I was like absolutely not So I usually would do two nights a break and then a night You This time I did two nights break, two nights. 

So I came back, wiped, exhausted, but  my other side called that was very, very close and asked if I can cover. So I came back on Wednesday.  They asked me to cover on Saturday, offering a 500 incentive. I was like, absolutely not. That's not happening. It's not going to be worth my time. Because this place is also very busy.   I was like, I can't, I'm tired.

I was very polite, respectful. I was like, I'm going to have to move heaven and earth to get childcare. So, I can't come in. I can't. For less than 3, 000 and she said, okay, thank you for letting me know and that was the last I heard of it. Did I really need to move heaven and earth to get childcare? No.  But she didn't need to know that.

It would have been an inconvenience. My husband would have, you know, been with the kids. But I wanted to keep it respectful, but also let them know about everything that I had to consider to be able to take this shift.

Because I knew the site was busy and desperate  and I knew she would come back with a counter. So I needed to set the stage for the fact that, hey, this is, this is a lot. This is a lot.  So said, so done.  Almost like 12 hours later, Dr. Luzes, we got approval for 3, 000. I was like, cool. Now I already make 3, 000 a shift.

So that was going to be 6, 000 for 12 hours. I get another text the person for tonight called out now. This is Friday.  can you come in for another? 3, 000 incentive  I asked my husband. I was like, hey  you want to make some money we go into Maui soon  Should I do this? He's like do it.  So I went in  Friday night, Saturday night.

3, 000 incentive for Friday night, 3, 000 incentive for Saturday night. I already make 3K a shift. 12, 000 in 24 hours. Now, those numbers sound impressive, and it's like, wow, and so much money. All sorts of things may be going on in your mind. Some of you may be thinking, how, how dare you charge that much? That is highway robbery, and I've actually seen that sentiment in our groups, that we should not charge that much, and  the person said they don't feel right charging that much, which is 

whatever,  that's also part of , what I'm discussing right now, right? Money aside, on those shifts, I had anywhere from 6 to 8 laboring patients at a time, managing by myself. This place has almost 20 labor rooms,  luckily I don't have to cover the ER,  but I also have to cover the high risk antepartum.

and the high risk postpartum patients.  On the last couple hours of that second shift,  I had  several postpartum hemorrhages, I had a C section that was an emergency, I had a smattering of bad traces throughout these shifts,  and I had a three minute shoulder dystocia. Oh, and there was somebody at the very end who came in with blood pressures in the 180s over 100s.

I was completely wiped, completely wiped when I was done, and I was already tired. The only thing that got me through was knowing that I was going to make 12, 000 in that time.  Now, why am I telling you this? Is it to talk about negotiation and knowing your worth?  Kind of,  but I know this  exact situation would not apply to everybody that's listening.

This exact situation may not apply to you, you may be employed, you may be a different specialty, whatever. It is the principle.  I didn't know how that shift was going to be.  I know this place is busy, but I had no idea it was going to be this busy,   when I talk about that place, I always say, not everybody can work there. 

A new grad who trained at a place that is low volume could not go and work there. Like, it's only not dangerous because of the kinds of situations that I've been in, how I trained, and where I worked afterwards.  But, it is borderline  dangerous. Right? Definitely for a lower skilled physician. Knowing all of that, and knowing the level of the care that I bring,  knowing the sacrifice that I would have to make, I was already exhausted. 

I didn't need childcare exactly, but  let's be real, no matter who it is, taking care of those two children alone is a lot. So now, my husband has to take over, whatever he had to do is out the window.  Luckily, it was nighttime, so it was not a lot, but it was still, I usually have to leave  during the afternoon because of how far it is.

And then I also have time away from my family, which is the most important thing after I'd already been gone for about a week, time away from my kids, time away from my husband, time away from my bed, time away from my very comfortable oversized couch. So thinking about all of that,  did I even get paid enough?

Probably not. And that thought process. is what I want you to have.  When you are thinking about, if you do LOCUMS, what am I going to charge? What am I going to negotiate for?  If you're not LOCUMS,  how am I going to negotiate my salary? Am I going to take this extra call because somebody asked me to? Am I going to agree to unpaid call? 

Am I going to say, oh yes, I'll be on this committee without pay? All of these situations. Really think about what are you giving up? What are you bringing to the table? What value? And is what is being asked of you  being compensated enough based on  those things?  Chances are the answer is no,  so  I would say almost no time do questions like that have to be answered right away.

So if your immediate answer is just to say yes. Because you're a people pleaser or say yes, because you feel like you have to, or it's not that big a deal.  I want you to take a pause and think about it. Think about everything that I talked about. Think even if you can't imagine a scenario, think about that situation I just told you about my two shifts,  all of the possibilities, everything you have to give up before you answer and then ask for more.

Yeah. Then, ask for the situation to be different  or, my favorite, say no.  Because chances are,  what they are offering is not going to be worth it. Because you are worth more than that.  This isn't only about money. This isn't only in the context of work and being compensated in that way. This is for your life as a mother. 

People are constantly requesting.  Your time and your energy. Can you bake a cake for my child's birthday party? I don't know why anybody would ask you that. It's just an example.  No, , this is a good one I saw a post in one of our mom groups where  She was really upset that she took her child to this birthday party because it was in the freezing rain and the child was crying And it was her only Saturday off  and I was just like, you know But why did you say yes? 

Because if you  took a moment and thought about it, thought about everything you had to give up, your time on a Saturday,  actual quality time with your child and your time away from your husband,  time away from your bed, all of that. And then  think about what the situation was going to be like.

If it's freezing rain, chances are the weather report would have told you and your child doesn't need to go to every activity. They probably would have had more fun  at home having a rainy day party with you. So think about the opportunity cost. Think about what you are giving up, what value you bring and the value to yourself.

Like am I going to enjoy this? Am I going to have fun? And then say no.  Offer an alternative if you feel like you can't say no, or if it's in the context where it's appropriate, ask for more money.  Because you are worth it. You are worth getting paid 12 thousand dollars for 24 hours. I'm not special. Well, I am special.  But so are you. 

Alright, Doc? So,  I want you the next time somebody asks something of you, take a breath,  And really think about it. And if you are having trouble, you just cannot get past the idea of saying no, or you can't, your imagination can't, take you there.  Reach out to me. Send me a DM, send me an email. We will go through it.

I don't want to hear, Oh, I'm a pediatrician, I can't make that much. I'm family medicine.  Let me give you an example.  That routine vaccine that you're giving to that, I don't know, I don't remember the vaccine schedule, nine month old,  

what if that vaccine  was the thing that prevented that child from having a life altering illness in the future?  What if that child was going to go on to do something amazing? Let's take, make it as ridiculous as you think in your mind, but not ridiculous at all. What if that child was going to go on to cure cancer?

Your work means something. It is valuable. You have value.  And don't let anybody make you believe that because you are just dot dot dot, you're not just anything. You are a physician. And you are a mom.  Your time, your energy, your skills, your knowledge, your expertise, they have value  and you need to acknowledge it and act like it.

All right, so share this episode with another physician mom that needs to hear this message. Please leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts and a five star rating everywhere else. And I will see you on the next episode of Stethoscopes and Strollers.