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CHOC Specialists
Orange, California

Critical Care CVICU - Physician, PD

Critical Care MedicineIncludes callIncludes weekendsPer Diem

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

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Job Description

CHOC Specialists is a private pediatric subspecialty group with 26 pediatric subspecialties. The group practices at Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) which is a premier healthcare system based in Orange County, Calif. CHOC is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients.

Pediatric Critical Care -CVICU

Physician-Per Diem

Pediatric Sub-Specialty Faculty (PSF), now part of Rady Children’s Health is seeking a per diem Pediatric Critical Care -CVICU Physician to join our growing team.

Responsibilities include providing quality care to pediatric critical care patients in our 24 bed CVICU, from birth to young adulthood. Our service is exclusively inpatient with shared rotating night and weekend call.

The successful candidate will be pediatric critical care physician with additional training in pediatric cardiology who is board certified/board eligible and has an unrestricted California medical license.

PSF, a private pediatric subspecialty group, is composed of more than 450 physicians and advance practice providers within 29 pediatric subspecialties. This group practices at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), a premier healthcare system based in Orange County, Calif.

Named one of the best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report (2025-2026), CHOC is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach and research that brings advanced treatment to pediatric patients.

Affiliated with the University of California, Irvine, CHOC’s regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several primary and specialty care clinics, a pediatric residency program, and four centers of excellence - The CHOC Heart, Neuroscience, Orthopedic and Hyundai Cancer Institutes.

CHOC earned the Gold Level CAPE Award from the California Council of Excellence, the only children’s hospital in California to ever earn this distinction, and was awarded Magnet designation, the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence. Recognized for extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, CHOC’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is the first in the United States to earn the Beacon Award for Pediatric Critical Care Excellence.

Orange County, California, is famous for its warm climate, with average temperatures of 70 degrees and up throughout most of the year. Orange County boasts unbeatable entertainment, shopping and attractions, and, with the beach, mountains and desert all within short driving distances, there is something for everyone.

PSF is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, citizenship, national origin, ancestry (including language use restrictions), race, color, religion, religious creed, religious dress or grooming, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military and veteran status.

Rate of pay is determined by various factors, including but not limited to knowledge, skills, competencies, experience, education, as well as position requirements.

CHOC Specialists is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, citizenship, national origin, ancestry (including language use restrictions), race, color, religion, religious creed, religious dress or grooming, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, military and veteran status.

Key Responsibilities

Provide high-quality critical care to pediatric patients in the CVICU from birth to young adulthood. Participate in shared rotating night and weekend call duties as part of the inpatient service team.

Requirements

Candidates must be board certified or board eligible in pediatric critical care with additional training in pediatric cardiology. An unrestricted California medical license is required for this position.

Qualifications

Experience
5+ years of experience

Certifications

Board Certification

Key Skills

Inpatient CarePatient AdvocacyMedical Research

Critical Care Medicine — Physician Career Context

Of the 50 active Physician listings this role was benchmarked against, 4% are remote, 84% have no call, 48% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Physician pay on WeekdayDoc is up 4.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

Top contract/1099 Critical Care Medicine Jobs

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Salary Distribution40 jobs · 14 employers

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24
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Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks41 jobs · 14 employers

401k / retirement match
78%
CME allowance
32%
Sign-on bonus
12%
Relocation assistance
10%
Loan repayment
7%

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Work-life snapshot

median 1.5this job 2.4
Better work-life than 60% of Critical Care Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 226 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes call
  • Includes weekends

Living in Orange

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$1.05M
Typical market rent
$3,116/mo
Residents’ average commute
26 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.