Tradeoffs Inside the Urgent Care Boom
Mar 19, 2026
Nicole Curry, health reporter who covered oncology urgent care centers, Alan Yu, health reporter who examined private equity in urgent care, and Liz Tong, reporter who investigated the urgent care workforce. They discuss the urgent care boom, private equity-driven expansion, staffing and training challenges, work-life tradeoffs for clinicians, and the rise of specialty urgent care for cancer patients.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Moonlighting in Urgent Care Paid Residents Far More
- Emergency physician Eddie Kuo started moonlighting in urgent care during residency mainly for pay, earning roughly $75–$95/hour versus $5–$10/hour in residency.
- That pay gap made urgent care an appealing side gig for exhausted trainees.
Urgent Care Helps Trainees Build Clinical Autonomy
- Working solo in urgent care gave Eddie Kuo confidence to make independent treatment decisions without an attending.
- He described moonlighting as a steep but valuable learning step toward autonomy.
Midlevel Clinicians Dominate Urgent Care Workforce
- Only about 16% of urgent care providers are physicians; most are nurse practitioners and physician assistants who often make urgent care their career.
- Mid-level clinicians value the autonomy, procedural skills, and work-life balance urgent care offers.