When practices, hospitals and health facilities need temporary workers, health authorities and local businesses are often asked to find them. In reality, locum is the term used for a professional supplementing existing medical staff.

Working with a good locum tenens company can be an exciting and rewarding experience for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, as well as patients and their families.

If a physician leaves or an additional staff member has to be found to meet the increasing demand for services, healthcare facilities often need a locum tenens company to supply a suitably qualified professional in the local area.

Background

  • The locum industry was created to meet the needs of doctors in rural areas in the United States and other parts of the world.
  • Locum tenens services have evolved to meet the needs of hospitals, clinics and healthcare facilities in the United States and Canada.
  • The success of the locum tenens industry is based on the flexibility it offers doctors and healthcare providers.
  • It is important to study the advantages and disadvantages of locum tenens to determine whether it is a suitable resource or tool for you.

A locum tenens company provides a service that manages resources in a way that both parties can achieve objectives. The goals of each individual must be taken into account to meet the resources available and ensure that the candidate is a good fit with the organization.

The pros

Travel

With all states admitting local workers and all kinds of health facilities across the country requiring temporary medical staff, you can go anywhere.

If you are a physician or healthcare worker, it can be an adventure in many ways. You have the power to choose where your next job is.

Flexibility

Almost half of doctors cite flexible working hours as the best aspect of working in locum tenens. While working as a full-time physician usually does not provide such control over your schedule, locum jobs can offer a variety of reasons to favor a non-traditional work schedule.

Those who might benefit from short-term assignments include:

  • Doctors who prefer to travel to rural areas of the country and help those in need
  • Doctors who have family or personal commitments where it is better to work short term
  • Experienced doctors who have recently left their practice but still want to continue to work part-time.

Good Pay

Since locum tenens work is by definition temporary and short-term, doctors need to review and negotiate contracts before accepting mediation to ensure optimal and appropriate remuneration.

Experience and references are also crucial in salary negotiations. The remuneration, location and benefits are based on recognized market prices in each discipline.

New Learning Opportunities

Doctors can learn an enormous amount about the business of health care by gaining experience in different areas of health care and working in a variety of hospitals, clinics and health care facilities in the United States.

Traveling around the country and working in rural and underserved communities exposes doctors to a variety of medical needs. In addition to getting to know various surgical methods, doctors also have the opportunity to see a wider variety of medical cases.

The cons

Need to be adaptable

As a locum employee, you are only attached to your healthcare provider for a limited time, and as such, you are responsible for adapting to the existing systems and infrastructure of the organization.

This requirement is as much a matter of attitude as of ability. So be prepared to adapt to their methods and preferences for dealing with patients, and you won’t be disappointed.

Autonomy

Although you will certainly appreciate the autonomy associated with independent work and the freedom to leave after signing the contract, it can be difficult to lead a fairly transient lifestyle for a while.