Description

PEDIATRICS IN SAIPAN

Seeking adventurous pediatricians interested in full-scope practice with an excellent work life balance available starting September 2026. 

• Saipan straddles the gap between mainland jobs and international humanitarian work. It is a small island nation that is also a Commonwealth of the United States (similar to a US Territory).  Located in the Western Pacific Ocean near Guam, the island is 12 miles long and 5.5 miles wide.  Our population is roughly 45,000 people, most of whom are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent.  English is widely spoken. 
• Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation is the only hospital in the CNMI, providing the only pediatric inpatient, nursery, and NICU services to the islands.  
• All physicians are have been trained in the mainland US. We have a mix of early career and mid to late career physicians.
• 1-2 year contracts preferred but also open to locums positions for at least 3 months. 
• Currently need physicians for both our inpatient and outpatient service. We would be particularly interested in candidates willing to flex to either, but also have physicians who only do one or the other.

Schedule

• Outpatient: in our clinic we have a compressed work schedule; allowing those who work outpatient only to have a 4 day work week, 32 hours face-to-face patient care hours, 16-18 patients per day. Outpatient physicians do not take call.
• Inpatient: one block equals as three day shifts from 7a-5p, one 24 hour call (7a-7a), then three shifts from 5p-7a (8 days total per block). The night shifts can be done at home, but pediatricians are expected to come in for admissions and to assess unstable patients.  There is no other call responsibility when not on inpatient service.  Two inpatient blocks fulfill the work hours for a four-week period.
• Completing one inpatient block and six to eight clinic days would fulfill the hours for a four-week period, for those who wish to do both

Inpatient Pediatrics

• CHCC is essentially a community hospital in the middle of the ocean, so our scope of practice is very broad.  In the hospital, we cover NICU, newborn nursery, pediatric wards, and the rare PICU-level patient.  When on call, we also attend high-risk deliveries and are available for consults from our providers in the Emergency Department or our neighboring islands of Tinian and Rota. 
• Overall, CHCC can be considered a “medium resource” environment – there is far more available here (ventilators, BiPAP, TPN, wide formulary, RTs) than at many international hospitals.  Saipan also has adult/general surgeons on the island (General Surgery, ENT, Ortho) and adult subspecialists (Cardiology, Nephrology, Oncology). We lack pediatric surgical or medical subspecialists, but maintain a partnership with Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California for management advice and as a referral center for our patients needing subspecialty care.  

Outpatient Pediatrics 

• The outpatient work is also very broad, as our providers do well child care and manage pediatric subspecialty issues with close communications with our referral specialists. Despite its location in the tropics, Saipan is not an endemic area for malaria, dengue fever, or intestinal parasites. 
• Saipan has a large underserved population, and many of our patients face socioeconomic barriers to routine outpatient care.  Thankfully, we have WIC, SNAP, Early Intervention Services, home visiting programs, and other community resources to help these families. 

Benefits

• Compensation $190,000, but those who are residents longer than 183 days/ year pay a much lower tax rate than in the mainland.
• We offer retirement account, health insurance, and sign on bonuses
• Tropical island location mean beaches are never far. Water sports such as swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing, kiteboarding, fishing, and spearfishing are popular year round.   “Boonie stomping” is the local term for hiking through the jungle and is a popular weekend activity.  
• Flights from Saipan to Asian nations and other Pacific islands are returning to pre-pandemic levels.  Currently, there are direct flights to Seoul, Tokyo, and Guam, allowing for easier off-island travel. 

 Interested parties my contact Dr Clairalyn Baucom ([email protected]) for more information.