VISTA Voice

Although large cities may seem fun and glamorous, it is the remote and rural locations that tend to offer the most value. These locations allow you to explore your career and the world in a whole new way. You can net higher pay, provide care to underserved communities, and much more while working in remote locations. Still unsure? Read on to learn why you should consider remote locations when working locum tenens.

There are many benefits to working locum tenens. You can travel, have flexibility in your schedule and receive varied experiences at different facilities. Despite these advantages, there may come a time when you’re ready to settle down and change the pace. Here are a few things you should do if you’re transitioning from locum tenens to a permanent role:

Choosing the right locum tenens agency when searching for the perfect roles and assignments is crucial. To make the best decision, it’s important to know what to look for. The following tips can assist:

For those who love to travel, having a permanent, full-time job often means feeling tied down. This doesn't have to be the case, though. For medical clinicians, there is an option that allows for traveling while working: locum tenens.

With this work, you don’t have to rely on limited vacation days to travel. Instead, you can explore new and exciting locations and make money at the same time. Alternatively, you can make your vacation pay double by accepting a locum tenens assignment while using paid time-off from your full-time role.

The growing physician shortage has a huge impact on healthcare staffing, creating challenges for medical facilities. More specifically, it’s making it difficult for them to recruit and retain quality physicians to provide proper care to patients.

According to a recent report from the Association of Medical Colleges, one of the top factors contributing to the physician shortage and demand is a growing, aging population. Other factors include turnover in rural areas and physician burnout. As a result, many specialties are in high demand, including family medicine, internal medicine and radiology. This can affect staffing in a number of ways, but utilizing the services of locum tenens can help healthcare facilities alleviate its effects and maintain consistent staff coverage.

As self-employed, independent contractors, locum tenens clinicians don’t have access to a traditional employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or pension plan. But that doesn't mean that they should not or cannot save for retirement, they just need to find alternatives to ensure long-term financial stability.

Fortunately, there are several different retirement plan options available, each with their own benefits. In this post, we're going to walk through the alternative ways that clinicians can save for retirement while working locum tenens.

Many myths circulate around locum tenens work, and these can cause qualified practitioners to avoid this exciting career path. It can also keep clinics and other healthcare centers from finding the professionals that they need. Therefore, we believe that it is important to continue debunking these fallacies so that the truth about locum tenens becomes more widely known.

In reality, locum tenens work provides diverse experiences, the chance to travel, and needed flexibility. Here are some myths about these roles along with facts to dispel them.

As we enter tax season, it’s important for locum tenens clinicians to plan accordingly to avoid surprises. When working locum tenens, you are considered independent contractors, and there a few things to know when filing your taxes.

What is an independent contractor?

An independent contractor is someone who is considered self-employed. This means they will receive a Form 1099-MISC and are subject to self-employment tax. Additionally, independent contractors are paid without taxes being held. They may be required to pay quarterly estimated taxes or taxes on the amounts paid throughout the year.

As an independent contractor, you have distinct advantages and challenges when preparing your taxes. Here are a few tax planning tips to help navigate the upcoming tax season:

Whether you’re considering locum tenens or just starting your journey, you can learn a lot from experienced locum tenens clinicians. These three clinicians chose VISTA because of the personalized service, assistance with licensing and certifications and location flexibility. Here’s what they had to say:

Dr. Mark Rholl, a recent retiree, used to work locum tenens assignments in various locations. Here’s why he considered locum tenens:

“I was at a meeting sitting next to someone a little younger who mentioned what a great experience he had working locum tenens. That piqued my interest, along with the fact that it could be part-time, I could work 2-6 months, then have some time off to be with family or to do some traveling.”

Dr. Rholl worked with VISTA from 2012 to 2018, which gave him an opportunity to travel and explore new communities. His wife, Carol, usually accompanied him on his assignments, and together they were able to visit places like Chinle, AZ, Ignacio, CO (with the Northern Navajo), and in rural Hana, HI. On advice for a doctor considering locum tenens:

At VISTA, a locum tenens recruiter’s job is two-fold: we are dedicated to connecting facilities with highly qualified providers and we’re passionate about helping clinicians find the perfect opportunities to grow their career. Whether there’s a travel emergency or a licensing issue, we work to ensure the process is as smooth and stress-free as possible. To get an inside look at the role of our dedicated recruiters, check out a day in the life of VISTA recruiter Xi Feng from our Hospitalist team: