As a physician, you have the choice of working as a locum tenens personnel. The simple definition of locum tenens physicians is medical practitioners that work as temporary workers.
This means they are usually independent contractors. This is opposed to the regular salaried medical practitioners at private groups and hospitals. It does not matter what type of doctor you are, as any type of doctor can choose locum tenens jobs. You can read this to find out the various types of medical doctors we have.
Also, the people that are working in this capacity usually choose it, and not because getting a job was difficult. They just simply prefer this path as the best one for them due to a reason or the other.
If you are considering locum work, we believe some personal reason must have influenced your decision. But do you know there are several benefits you stand to gain from doing this? Below we have listed and discussed some of these benefits.
1. Flexibility and Freedom
Working locum comes with flexibility and freedom. Usually, the process of working like this involves choosing an agency to work with. The agency will give you jobs from which you can choose. Assuming you do not like an aspect of the working practices, like where the hospital is located or the hours you have to work, then you can simply not work there.
This means that you choose not just your jobs but your schedule. Even if you start a job and end up not liking it, you do not have to stress it because your stay there is temporary.
You can also take several shifts with one employer or alternate between more than one employer when you feel like taking on more work.
2. Potential Higher Income
If you choose to become a locum tenens physician, you can potentially earn higher than those working regular jobs. This is because these jobs often have higher pay; this is especially true for people who just started their careers. As a specialist, you can earn higher if you choose to partner with a private organization.
However, one thing to note is that you will not get any workplace benefits. At most, the agency you selected may give you a health insurance. Other than this, you would need to handle everything else by yourself.
3. Traveling
Working locum gives you the chance to travel (usually paid by someone else) to several places. Most time, employers need locum services because they do not have full-time workers; this issue is often because of where the hospital is located.
So, you most likely will get jobs in areas you never would have gone. Sure, these places may not be top of your travel list, and you would also be working. Yet, you can still visit some fun and beautiful places in the new area.
The downside to this, however, is licensing. For you to practice in the new place, you would need to get a license there. This can be easily handled by planning and getting the license before you need to start working.
4. You Will Not Need to Deal with Workplace Politics
Workplaces usually come with their politics and bureaucracy. If this is one aspect of working that you are sick of, then you would be glad to know that you do not have to deal with it working locum. Since you are working temporarily, the administrative decisions that affect workers would not be much of your business.
Also, you would not need to go for policy meetings, nor do you need to give your opinion about any case or issue. Your workmates will also not bother about dragging you into any work-related conflicts or issues because they know you only have limited time with them.
5. Help Maintain a Healthy Balance between Your Work and Life
A lot of workers are often concerned about their work-life balance. They often try several tricks and things to ensure this balance is as healthy as possible. You can go here: https://www.forbes.com/ to find out some tips to help you maintain a better work-life balance.
As we have already said, locum workers get to choose their working schedule. Since they can do this, they can easily select jobs that will help them maintain a healthy work-life balance. You can choose to work only during some period, like working all year and resting during the summer. You are in control of your schedule so you can decide to do anything you want with your time.
Conclusion
Working as a locum tenens physician can be just what you need for your career. While you may have your reason for wanting this, you also get so many benefits from doing it. Some of these benefits are potential higher pay, being able to travel, work flexibility, and so on. These benefits have been discussed in detail in this article.
