There are many great perks to being a locum tenens provider, as well as a few additional responsibilities that come with the territory. Your assignments will take you to new, interesting places, where you’ll meet new, interesting people – but this exciting adventure takes you away from your home and quite often living out of a suitcase.
You can enjoy the flexibility of being an independent contractor and having control of your schedule – but this comes with the added responsibility of managing your taxes. How can you manage all of this? Make the most of being a locum tenens professional by following these ten tips:
- Always keep your CV, certificates, and other credentials together and in a place, you can find them. It is a good idea to scan documents and keep them in your email or cloud storage. This way, you always have them on hand.
- Return phone calls and emails quickly. If you are accessible, you can pick up jobs very quickly.
- Be sure to keep very accurate financial records of both income and any expenses related to work. As a locum tenens professional, you are considered self-employed, meaning your taxes will be more complicated than a standard employee. Keeping accurate financial records will come in handy come tax time.
- Know when you need to renew licenses and certifications and know which of these are needed in what states and for what type of jobs. You do not want to pick up a new job just to realize your state license has expired. (VISTA has an expert licensing and credentialing team that can help – we’ll even pay the fees.)
- Keep a list of what jobs you have applied for and which recruiters have your CV. It doesn’t look good to have multiple recruiting companies sending your CV in for the same position. You might want to consider working with a single locum tenens company to make sure you don’t end up looking disorganized or desperate.
- Sign up for frequent flyer miles, hotel rewards programs, and other loyalty clubs. One of the obvious perks of working locum tenens assignments is the travel rewards. After your assignment is finished, cash in your points for a great vacation!
- Carefully research every recruiting company you sign with. You want to make certain they are actually going to be able to get you jobs in the area you want and that pay optimum wages.
- Keep up with technology. Because different hospitals and facilities use different EMR systems, for example, you will need to know how to use them all. The more technology you can say you are familiar with, the better chances you have of being hired for a position.
- Know when and where all of your jobs are. This may seem obvious, but you need to be aware of how long you will be in a location and what kind of break you have between your jobs. It is also helpful to keep a work history for your credentials.
- Remember to enjoy yourself every now and then. As long as you are traveling to many different places, take the time to do a little sightseeing!
