Locum tenens is a way of practicing medicine that is appealing to clinicians in many stages of their career. It can help reduce certain stressors that may come with full-time roles. It also provides benefits to those who are just starting their career and unsure of where they’d like to practice long-term.
Working locum tenens provides a way for clinicians to travel to new and exciting locations. For example, you can work in a city you’ve always wanted to visit without making a permanent commitment to live there forever. But, if you love the place, you can continue finding assignments in that location to remain there long-term. There are almost too many advantages of locum tenens to share, but here are just a few unexpected benefits you may not be aware of.
Working locum tenens gives clinicians the opportunity to travel to new locations where their work directly benefits the community. Their presence bridges a gap between those who need care and the number of providers there are to help, opening up access to healthcare to remote or underserved populations.
You may think that locum tenens is only for a short period of time, and that assignments are temporary. But, you can also make locum tenens your full-time occupation. One way to do this is to partner with a locum tenens agency like VISTA that will find you long-term assignments. Alternatively, VISTA can help you plan so that you can avoid gaps that could otherwise occur between assignments.
The problem of physician burnout is not new information. Most clinicians typically work long hours and can become overwhelmed with administrative work, and sometimes they need a change in order to remember why they got into medicine.
Locum tenens can be a solution to physician burnout by allowing you to take a break from your daily grind, but provides a way for you to still practice medicine while reinvigorating your work-life balance. It lets you choose when and where to work and how much time to stay in one location, as well as allows you to travel and experience new environments while still practicing medicine.
Locum tenens gives clinicians an opportunity to work in different facilities and different types of practices. They can work in a solo practice or in a multi-specialty group. They can choose a rural or urban setting. They learn from their combined experiences, and may find better ways of doing things that they can incorporate into future assignments, whether they decide to return to a permanent role or choose to make locum tenens their full-time career choice.
Clinicians who break out of their usual routine find that they enjoy the freedom and flexibility of working locum tenens. The relief of stress they experience often results in them rediscovering their passion for their work as clinicians.
The benefits of working locum tenens go beyond the freedom to travel and flexibility in schedule. There are other surprising advantages that are often overlooked by locum tenens clinicians. If you’re debating whether or not you should pursue locum tenens, take these benefits into consideration and embark on a career path that best fits your needs and lifestyle.