Locums

[toughlife]

kinda fun to follow the agonizing over the relative merit of locums....
we, however have a somewhat different problem with them: we are a small hospital in the middle of nowhere, the locums we employ are difficult to get and they are painfully aware of this fact.
while they are all competent people, they refuse to work nights, weekends, demand (DEMAND!!) that they are early out at full pay etc, etc.
sadly we are stuck with them , but i feel better already venting....
fasto

Is it just me or does this "I better be off work at 3pm or else" attitude seem to be a chronic problem in anesthesia? Do people somehow become allergic to their job after 3pm? Other specialties, besides derm, don't have this. How did it become so pervasive in our world? Makes us all look like a bunch of lazy panzies.

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[deleted126335]

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[begemot]

General comment to no one in particular

This thread seems to have degenerated into a discussion of whether all (or most) locums anesthesiologists suck. I don't think that was Noy's initial point nor is it, really, a useful question.

What I took from his post was that enough locums guys suck, that IF YOU WORK AS A LOCUMS people will assume you suck and you will have to prove that assumption wrong. We can debate whether that's right or wrong - but it doesn't really matter. Sounds to me like it's probably true.

So the issue is then - when faced with the choice to work locums or not, you should consider strongly that it you may well be presumed incompetent and that should factor into your career choices.

So is it this way specifically in anesthesia? My plan is to do military medicine and when my commitment is up just work part-time which essentially means to do "locums". I would like to retire at a point when I can save enough money to buy a house in europe and just chill. Perhaps I would work part-time for 10yrs before I retire. So I understand that a specialty where you have to establish a clientele like "eye doctor" or plastic surgeon would not be suitable for locums or part-time work. On the other hand ER seems like it is perfect for locums. So how would you rate different specialties in terms of appropriateness of locums work? Is it:
Radiology=ER>Anesthesia>everything else?

 

[clift]

So is it this way specifically in anesthesia? My plan is to do military medicine and when my commitment is up just work part-time which essentially means to do "locums". I would like to retire at a point when I can save enough money to buy a house in europe and just chill. Perhaps I would work part-time for 10yrs before I retire. So I understand that a specialty where you have to establish a clientele like "eye doctor" or plastic surgeon would not be suitable for locums or part-time work. On the other hand ER seems like it is perfect for locums. So how would you rate different specialties in terms of appropriateness of locums work? Is it:
Radiology=ER>Anesthesia>everything else?

I got rejected from med schools. I had the numbers to get in and i dont want to talk about it... anyway i have my last exams next week and then i am unemployed and reapplying to med schools one last time. my ugrad degree is completely useless. but this is not what i want to talk about. Let's say I get in next year. Then what? Can you tell me how to proceed for the next 10 years? I can tell you i've ****ed up a lot in my lifetime.

p.s. please dont tell me to try other careers. Maybe I shouldve studied to be a nurse 3years ago. Or maybe I shouldve done engineering for ugrad. But now it's too late. I know I will excell in medical school in a few years. I just want to know how do you get some of those 8-9's as a very old student with no money. Supposedly getting into med school is an achievement... But I feel like even if I do get in I will still be lower than a mcdonalds sweeper

The Anesthesia locums market is almost dead now. There are only a few undesirable positions available. Five years ago you could chose from several positions at any given time, but now you are lucky to find a new position when your assignment comes to an end.

I do not know how the Anesthesia locums market will be in 9 years when you will be ready to work as an Anesthesia attending, after you have applied to med school, and if you manage to get in to med school and then chose an Anesthesia residency

 

[Noyac]

The Anesthesia locums market is almost dead now. There are only a few undesirable positions available. Five years ago you could chose from several positions at any given time, but now you are lucky to find a new position when your assignment comes to an end.

I do not know how the Anesthesia locums market will be in 9 years when you will be ready to work as an Anesthesia attending, after you have applied to med school, and if you manage to get in to med school and then chose an Anesthesia residency

True that. Most of the "good" locums that we have been using have decided to take permanent jobs recently because the market is shrinking for locums.

And to answer Begemot's question. No this is not specific to anesthesia. All locums come to a job at a disadvantage. They don't know the other doc's. THey don't know the system and it goes on and on. And also, if they were rokstars they would have a permanent position IMO. We just let an Ortho locums go that was, well lets just say he wasn't the quality of the permanent guys.

 

[begemot]

True that. Most of the "good" locums that we have been using have decided to take permanent jobs recently because the market is shrinking for locums.

And to answer Begemot's question. No this is not specific to anesthesia. All locums come to a job at a disadvantage. They don't know the other doc's. THey don't know the system and it goes on and on. And also, if they were rokstars they would have a permanent position IMO. We just let an Ortho locums go that was, well lets just say he wasn't the quality of the permanent guys.

Thank you guys. Sorry about that post from another forum. How about ER and Radiology? Those are also no longer suitable for locums? The reason I am so interested in this is because my plan was to do all my training in the military and then take job/s that would give me really long vacations. And I thought I would partly retire(i.e. work much less) perhaps 10-15years before I fully retire. And I also read that military physicians supplement their income by doing locums. I know that some of these specialties have 10wk+ vacations but I am afraid this is not sustainable for 10yrs from now. I am also afraid I just cant stay in the same city for more than 3years. I guess the best way to retire early in this situation is just to get the best paid job and work until you save enough to retire.

Also using google I saw that there are advertisements for locums jobs in australia/new zealand in anesthesiology and er (not any other specialties). So I thought it made these specialties more versatile/international. But I guess advertisement does not mean it's easy to actually get a job.

 

[clift]

Also using google I saw that there are advertisements for locums jobs in australia/new zealand in anesthesiology and er (not any other specialties). So I thought it made these specialties more versatile/international. But I guess advertisement does not mean it's easy to actually get a job.

While you may be able to get a locums job in New Zealand or Australia, the pay was not that good, six month down there in paid less than two months here. I would rather work 2 months here and take 4 months of vacation if the pay is the same.

 

[Jay K]

While you may be able to get a locums job in New Zealand or Australia, the pay was not that good, six month down there in paid less than two months here. I would rather work 2 months here and take 4 months of vacation if the pay is the same.

That's surprising and unfortunate...

 

[begemot]

While you may be able to get a locums job in New Zealand or Australia, the pay was not that good, six month down there in paid less than two months here. I would rather work 2 months here and take 4 months of vacation if the pay is the same.

But you said it yourself that it's no longer possible to work 2months at a time.

 

[clift]

But you said it yourself that it's no longer possible to work 2months at a time.

I never said that, Working four month out of a year is possible in the current locums market if you have enough licenses, but you just wont have much choice of when or where you work.

 

[Sergio99]

The Anesthesia locums market is almost dead now. There are only a few undesirable positions available. Five years ago you could chose from several positions at any given time, but now you are lucky to find a new position when your assignment comes to an end.

I do not know how the Anesthesia locums market will be in 9 years when you will be ready to work as an Anesthesia attending, after you have applied to med school, and if you manage to get in to med school and then chose an Anesthesia residency

Hello,

I have not been in touch with the job market in the last few years since I got in my present position, but I think it is true that it was relatively easier in the past than it is now.

In my previous job we used locums a lot. I have seen very good ones, very bad ones, and everything in between. We even saw some so good that we wanted to keep and offered them permanent positions, but they wanted to have the freedom to move around and take as much vacation as they wished, so they refused to settle at any one place. I don't know what they are doing in the present job market.

Greetings

 

[Coastie]

That's surprising and unfortunate...

It's not true.

Check out the private forum. You can make 2-8k a day doing locums in australia, and the jobs are plentiful. Most 2 wk stints, but 4 wks + possible too.

 

[Jay K]

It's not true.

Check out the private forum. You can make 2-8k a day doing locums in australia, and the jobs are plentiful. Most 2 wk stints, but 4 wks + possible too.

Coastie- thanks for the reply. That sounds pretty awesome. Unfortunately I don't trust my personal information getting leaked should I join the private forum - I'd love to, but in this day and age when even big corporations and government entities are so easily hacked, I understandably don't want to limit what I can post that might be helpful because I'm concerned for reprisal.

 

[Locums??]

If your practice is so great why do you need locums?

Locums is fine. There is no reason why new grads cant do some locums to see what practice is a right fit. rent an apartment and get on the locums trail. talk to different people in diff parts of the country and go for it. Dont listen to this ridiculous prejudicial statement.

Pretty spot on there. I work with some of the best physicians in the world... NOT EXAGGERATING. As you spoke if they had such a great practice... why would they ever need to use them?? Oh thats right because he is full of it. Locums were created in order to fill in needs for health providers to "fill in for, or take place of" that is what locums means. If you are in rural Michigan and have to go on maternity leave... would you call that Dr. Trash who came out to help out the community... No he/she is a life saver because without them we would have a shortage of Dr.s all throughout the US. That is why they get paid more, some of the jobs are not desirable like in LA or NY , name any other big city. You will make nothing compared with rural Missouri working with real people and not having 100 other dr.s getting in your way to perform medicine. You get hands on and meet some incredible people. Dont judge a book by its cover. We have had some terrible providers try to work with us, but being a part of NALTO, we dont work with them. Maybe you got some trash Dr.s but guess who is hiring them.... the same person who hired you. Something to think on ehh?

 

[Consigliere]

Pretty spot on there. I work with some of the best physicians in the world... NOT EXAGGERATING. As you spoke if they had such a great practice... why would they ever need to use them?? Oh thats right because he is full of it. Locums were created in order to fill in needs for health providers to "fill in for, or take place of" that is what locums means. If you are in rural Michigan and have to go on maternity leave... would you call that Dr. Trash who came out to help out the community... No he/she is a life saver because without them we would have a shortage of Dr.s all throughout the US. That is why they get paid more, some of the jobs are not desirable like in LA or NY , name any other big city. You will make nothing compared with rural Missouri working with real people and not having 100 other dr.s getting in your way to perform medicine. You get hands on and meet some incredible people. Dont judge a book by its cover. We have had some terrible providers try to work with us, but being a part of NALTO, we dont work with them. Maybe you got some trash Dr.s but guess who is hiring them.... the same person who hired you. Something to think on ehh?