The OnCallogy Founding Story

OnCallogy started out of necessity. As an orthopedic resident trying to support a family in a high-cost area like San Francisco, I was always looking for opportunities to make extra money. If you could check my browser history you’d see an embarrassing number of google searches on the topic. Moonlighting was the most lucrative option, but unfortunately, my program didn’t have any internal opportunities, and external opportunities seemed to all be passed by word-of-mouth via hushed tones and secret handshakes. I was frustrated not just because I could have used the extra money, but because I knew that the autonomy associated with moonlighting would push me and make me a better doctor. I eventually gave up, as the search seemed fruitless.

Enter Mike Wilson. We were med school friends at Wash U, and he is now an ENT resident at the University of Michigan. He called me one day and explained that he wanted to make a career move and relocate to the Bay Area but that in order for this to happen he would need some extra cash in the interim. He started to look for open hospital shifts and other moonlighting opportunities, but soon encountered all of the same obstacles that I had.

In trying to help, I started up my google searches again and came across an article listing several ways to make extra money as a resident. The first was obviously moonlighting. A resident can make 10x his normal hourly wage when moonlighting; to state it another way, you could double your income by adding 10% more moonlighting hours. The next idea on the list? Driving for Uber. I couldn’t believe that someone who has spent nearly a decade in post-college education acquiring a highly specialized skillset that’s so widely needed couldn’t find a more profitable and enjoyable way to earn extra income than by driving for Uber or Lyft.

And that was it.

Mike and I knew that in this modern, internet-driven age, it should not be hard to find opportunities as a physician to make extra income on your timetable by helping those around you. The more physicians we talked to, the more excited we became. It was obvious that doctors wanted this, and once we realized the need that hospitals and practices have for call coverage, the idea seemed obvious. We knew that if we provided an open, online marketplace and took care of the details like malpractice that opportunities would abound, and physicians, hospitals, and patients would all mutually benefit. We invited Abe aboard, and soon OnCallogy was born.

But it’s not our founding story that most interests us!

As is often said, “It’s not where you’ve been but where you’re going.” We are excited for the opportunities that are ahead, and hope you’ll partner with us for the long road.

Justin Krogue, MD

Founder, OnCallogy