I personally wouldn't contract myself because then I would have to find and arrange for my own housing, health/life/malpractice insurance, draw up my own contracts with hospitals, set up my own utilities, do my own payroll (deducting taxes,etc...). Also, because you are not getting an paycheck from the hospitals, but rather billing them for your services, there is no guarantee that they will pay you on time- I like knowing that I will be getting a reliable paycheck every week. It might work for some people, but for me, it would just be too much of a headache.