What is Locum Tenens?
The Latin phrase locum tenens literally means “place-holding” and is used to refer to a physician in a temporary medical staffing position. In the early days of locums, providers of the service tended to be physicians in the twilight of their medical career who wanted to stay active in the practice of medicine, but in a more flexible and less time-consuming manner than demanded by a full-time practice.
Today, many physicians enjoy the flexibility of locum tenens as a work option at nearly every stage of their career. They enjoy a variety of opportunities to choose what they want to do, to work as little or as much as they like, to travel, to focus on a single specialty or multiple specialties, to improve their quality of life – and their career goes with them. Others choose locum tenens as a result of increased bureaucracy in the healthcare field and rapidly rising malpractice insurance premiums.
Who does Locum Tenens?
Professionals – Physicians who provide locum tenens services as a career.
Graduating Residents – Recently trained physicians who use locum tenens as a means to gain real practice experience for the first time, travel, and determine which type of practice best fits their long-term personal and career goals.
Transitionals – Physicians involved in a career or personal change, i.e., changing practice locations, relocating to a new geographic area, joining a different group, changing family or marital situation, awaiting a fellowship, leaving the military, who have time to devote to providing locum tenens services.
Wind-downs – Fully skilled physicians later in their careers who wish to stay involved in practicing medicine on a part-time basis, enjoy the prospects of travel, and want to share their experience and expertise in assisting colleagues who need their services.
Moonlighters – Physicians with sufficient time available from their own practices and who enjoy the additional income or change in practice experience that locum tenens provides.
Whatever your reason for pursuing locum tenens service, Medstaff can help you find the position that matches your career and personal goals.