State of Locums market

[undalay]

I am hearing that the number of Locum opportunities are decreasing from different Locum companies. I know a handful of my friends who are all doing full time locums work including call. The AMCs that are running the hospital are not able to fully staff anesthesiologist groups because every 3 nights call, poor pay, flat reimbursement and not based on productivity. The result is that full timers are not doing any cases till 3-5 Pm and make the locums do all the day time cases. Full timers will only work if high volume Ortho pod demands extra room or emergencies come in. The AMCs have no control of the full timers as they have no one to take night calls. Basically no one wants to do anesthesia. One full timer does pain management as a side gig, another is the chief and gets 100k for “admin”. , another is past 65 yrs old. Does this happen all over the country?
The big hospital where envision lost the contract has to rely on full time locums for the whole of 2023 and my friends were wondering about 2024. I think there is a shortage particularly in physician run anesthesia groups. One hospital was offering 38$/unit for locums work and it is a busy hospital with lot of sick patients and lots of work.

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[kidthor]

One hospital was offering 38$/unit for locums work and it is a busy hospital with lot of sick patients and lots of work.

Hence nobody wants to work there.

 

[coffeebythelake]

I am hearing that the number of Locum opportunities are decreasing from different Locum companies. I know a handful of my friends who are all doing full time locums work including call. The AMCs that are running the hospital are not able to fully staff anesthesiologist groups because every 3 nights call, poor pay, flat reimbursement and not based on productivity. The result is that full timers are not doing any cases till 3-5 Pm and make the locums do all the day time cases. Full timers will only work if high volume Ortho pod demands extra room or emergencies come in. The AMCs have no control of the full timers as they have no one to take night calls. Basically no one wants to do anesthesia. One full timer does pain management as a side gig, another is the chief and gets 100k for “admin”. , another is past 65 yrs old. Does this happen all over the country?
The big hospital where envision lost the contract has to rely on full time locums for the whole of 2023 and my friends were wondering about 2024. I think there is a shortage particularly in physician run anesthesia groups. One hospital was offering 38$/unit for locums work and it is a busy hospital with lot of sick patients and lots of work.

At 38 bucks a unit good luck. This hospital is not going to have staff to keep the ORs running.

 

[Dr. Rude]

At 38 bucks a unit good luck. This hospital is not going to have staff to keep the ORs running.

I sent them an application touting my accomplishments of reconquering my heroin addiction and finally getting off the sex offender registry. They said that I was fine to continue the process as long as I had no open warrants. They were interested if anybody else in my rehab group was available.

 

[coffeebythelake]

Some of these locums offers are laughably bad. Worse hourly pay than my w2 cush academic job. Who the f@ck would agree to sign up for garbage locums like that

 

[ryanjmy]

I am hearing that the number of Locum opportunities are decreasing from different Locum companies.

Basically no one wants to do anesthesia.

So according to your locums agent as supply goes down demand also goes down. I guess all those economic text books are wrong.

 

[ambiturner]

In my area locums is as strong as ever as a few more traditional PP groups disintegrated in the past 6 months. The new grads are all foregoing fellowship and taking jobs with the new corporate overlords though so I could see a path to the market cooling. Even if it stabilizes, it’ll stabilize at salaries a good 25-50% higher than before the pandemic.

 

[Maverikk]

Some of these locums offers are laughably bad. Worse hourly pay than my w2 cush academic job. Who the f@ck would agree to sign up for garbage locums like that

I’m in the locums game now…there are some very unemployable people who depend on this market. Show up 30-60 minutes late regularly, can’t do the professional song and dance especially in situations where they’re new, struggle through >50% of procedures. Forgot there were people out there after being in a good PP group for so long. It’s a minority but would not make partnership at a decent PP group. One long term locums I met said this has been the best past few years of his career, eventually was fired for not picking up his phone on call.

The number of opportunities is definitely not decreasing. The asking rate in large metro centers is approaching 325, and that’s just what they’re asking. Have to have the patience to say no, line up a few opportunities at a time. Get credentialed, let them bid for you, recruiters who I disdain don’t like it, except when I accept their offer. It’s definitely a weird game.

If the ASA was smart they would leverage this for AA legislation, but they’re not and they won’t.

 

[undalay]

So according to your locums agent as supply goes down demand also goes down. I guess all those economic text books are wrong.

I think you are on to something. Economically doesn’t make sense. May be These Locum agents are colluding with their in house AMCs to drive the locums into taking poorly paid full time positions at the same hospitals.

 

[NVO]

I’m in the locums game now…there are some very unemployable people who depend on this market. Show up 30-60 minutes late regularly, can’t do the professional song and dance especially in situations where they’re new, struggle through >50% of procedures. Forgot there were people out there after being in a good PP group for so long. It’s a minority but would not make partnership at a decent PP group. One long term locums I met said this has been the best past few years of his career, eventually was fired for not picking up his phone on call.

The number of opportunities is definitely not decreasing. The asking rate in large metro centers is approaching 325, and that’s just what they’re asking. Have to have the patience to say no, line up a few opportunities at a time. Get credentialed, let them bid for you, recruiters who I disdain don’t like it, except when I accept their offer. It’s definitely a weird game.

If the ASA was smart they would leverage this for AA legislation, but they’re not and they won’t.

I have to agree. Some of the locums attendings we get at my program are absolute garbage. Like not picking up their phone while on call in-house for a level 1 trauma for >1 hr, pseudoscience believing, etc no idea how theyre even practicing anesthesia type of people.

 

[coffeebythelake]

I have to agree. Some of the locums attendings we get at my program are absolute garbage. Like not picking up their phone while on call in-house for a level 1 trauma for >1 hr, pseudoscience believing, etc no idea how theyre even practicing anesthesia type of people.

I think there is a reason why some are perpetual locums. Because they jump from place to place and can't actually hold a permanent position.

 

[linkin06]

I had one locums attending believe that the solution to bleeding was to just keep giving RBCs...even after 4-6 units.

 

[IMGASMD]

I had one locums attending believe that the solution to bleeding was to just keep giving RBCs...even after 4-6 units.

You don’t need a reason nor diagnose what’s going on…. As long as you have enough replacement. Just like the job market right now….

 

[IMGASMD]

You maybe onto something…. One of my agents who is pretty open about some of this stuff was telling me one of their clients (the AMC that may also auto parts) would not really give them a rate. The locum company has to almost bid to get you through… sometimes depends on your credential and/or commitment the rate, they get back is different from one to the next.

For those who don’t know, this said AMC also started their own locum division. The rule for the physician to be considered for loucum job is that you’d have to live at least 50(?) miles away. So if you want to work close to your home base, you’d have to be either W2 full time or W2 per-diem.

I know there’s some tax implications and regulations for people and company who uses 1099. Somehow all these added together feels like some kind of manipulation of our job market……

Ps. Also it’s “standard” practice if you’ve worked with this said AMC, you’re theirs for two years. So you lose your negotiation power for at least 2 years after your last job with them.

 

[NVO]

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

 

[triggermaster]

T

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

That sounds like he should lose his license.

 

[T-burglar]

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

Medicine2wallstreet spotted

 

[aneftp]

Couple of things to consider with locums
1. Prn 1099 locums harder to obtain for MDs especially in bigger cities. Places will try to fill with w2 Crnas prn first. Than 1099 crna. Than w2 MDs to work extra shifts for extra pay. Than finally the 1099 MD prn

2. Full time MD 1099 will get more preference for assignments since they are available more consistently

Saying that. The best solutions is to gang up and coordinate 1099 full time with 2-3 other docs as well. Coordinate your schedule so you can cover 2-3 different sites consistently. Provides continuous 1099 work and sites love it due to the consistency.

That is the key word. Consistency.

 

[dmk5n]

I think you are on to something. Economically doesn’t make sense. May be These Locum agents are colluding with their in house AMCs to drive the locums into taking poorly paid full time positions at the same hospitals.

I suspect the AMC's have their own locums agencies (under different names) and its just another way for them to take 20% off the top AND try to reel in doc costs. It's a way to fix salaries.

 

[Test Boy]

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

There are idiots like this who think they’re so smart and special cause they’re doing things differently.

 

[Maverikk]

I think the trend of employers starting their own locums company is going to increase, I've seen this with a few large chains. I'm not sure if they're contracting out to some other staffing agency that previously didn't do locums but these people seem clueless

 

[otis86]

I'm doing locums currently. I have seen the average rate and recruiters pushing around 325-375. Private practice anesthesia is way different than academic anesthesia. If you like interesting challenging cases than academic's is for you. BUT and it's a big BUT, you have to deal with the constant bull****, cronyism, and moral corruption of academic Anesthesia. How do I know this? I was an Assistant Professor at an Ivy League institution which I won't mention by name. I was a General Anesthesiologist and really liked my job. I loved teaching the residents, the cases and complex patients, BUT I hated my colleagues and department politics. I have never met more lazier, morally corrupt Anesthesiologists than I did when I worked in academics.

Ultimately, I left because of the fantastic job market. Now in Locums working in some of these small private practice hospitals. The cases here are ridiculously simple. There is no comparison. I look at some of my colleagues saying of how challenging their cases are and I just think man these guys don't know what rough or tough is. So, choose what's best for you.

 

[aneftp]

I suspect the AMC's have their own locums agencies (under different names) and its just another way for them to take 20% off the top AND try to reel in doc costs. It's a way to fix salaries.

This.

Took me a while to figure it out. It depends where the money flow is coming from. Who ultimately is paying the locums.

The hospitals trend these days is when amc take over they are demanding 2-3 years locums coverage to stabilize staffing. This requires hospitals to fork over 50% or even 100% of the locums bill

I have a feel this DID NOT happen with sound anesthesia in Oregon where they had problems. Where sound isn’t gonna to lose money so the decide not to staff ORs. And hospital admin thought they got. A great deal from sound by not providing subsidy or very little subsidy which has been used up already.

So if locums money is coming out of hospitals budget. Amc with double dip with their 1099 100% wholly own subsidy
Envoy/envision
Dy staffing/team health
Usap has their own 1099 division I think it’s called anesthesia on call

So one would think it’s cheaper to contract directly out with envision. But if the money flow is coming from the hospital for locums. Envision actually wants you to go through envoy. So they can get another 20-30% cut. It’s like double dipping.

It’s crazy. It’s basically legal money laundering in front of our own eyes.

I was wondering this a few years ago. I go through envoy and another locums went through locums tenens dot com with the same hospital that envision has contract with. And hospitals allows this.

 

[undalay]

It’s like double dipping. I did not know this
Free money. One of the AMCs contracts with the hospital and gets the contract by biannual billing. That’s millions of dollars there. No small local company can compete.

 

[IMGASMD]

It’s like double dipping. I did not know this
Free money. One of the AMCs contracts with the hospital and gets the contract by biannual billing. That’s millions of dollars there. No small local company can compete.

Both AMC and hospital created this mass. The best and the cheapest solution is and will always be support the locals. People who actually have stock in have a good community hospital, rather than searching for these big box store solutions. They’re not saving anyone any money, just bill the system for all its worth.

 

[kidthor]

Both AMC and hospital created this mass. The best and the cheapest solution is and will always be support the locals. People who actually have stock in have a good community hospital, rather than searching for these big box store solutions. They’re not saving anyone any money, just bill the system for all its worth.

That and all of this nonsense ultimately is designed to benefit private equity above all else. PE will be happy to leave everything firebombed, just like they did with emergency medicine.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

ignore the noise, collect no less than 350-400/hr.

 

[Burned_Out]

Locums jobs are very seasonal. You'll see less positions advertised in the fall or winter because once the kids go back to school, more folks are not taking vacations and working more. Therefore, less need for locums to cover vacations. Things will pick up in the spring and really heat up next summer. Rates are very stable and I can still find work at > 400/hr.

As GandalfTheWhite mentioned, "ignore the noise". Sounds like some recruiter is pulling the wool over your eyes and trying to get you or someone you know to accept a lower rate.

 

[aneftp]

ignore the noise, collect no less than 350-400/hr.

I may hit at least 50k. Up to 75k depending how desperate they get at thanksgiving weekend next month (month of November ) as 1099 side gig. Weekends are the key to locums work. That’s in addition to my full time job mainly work Monday-Friday.

These dudes are pulling almost 30k per weekend alone. 72 hour call @$450/hr. 2 full weekends a month. Just do the math. I may try to squeeze in at 4pm after working 7-3p my regular gig.

So it’s not just hourly rate. It’s how many hours you can string in a row. Busy hospital. Can do like 30-40 epidurals a day. Yourself. Crnas can help some times but ORs running almost 24/7.

So 6 days of work nets you 55-60k plus. Enough to feed a family.

The key is to have 10-12 hospital privileges at any one time. Jump in and out.

Locums jobs are very seasonal. You'll see less positions advertised in the fall or winter because once the kids go back to school, more folks are not taking vacations and working more. Therefore, less need for locums to cover vacations. Things will pick up in the spring and really heat up next summer. Rates are very stable and I can still find work at > 400/hr.

As GandalfTheWhite mentioned, "ignore the noise". Sounds like some recruiter is pulling the wool over your eyes and trying to get you or someone you know to accept a lower rate.

yes mainly true. But it really depends on the location. In Florida. Miami proper sucks in general for locums. Same with Orlando proper and Tampa proper. Kinda of sucks for locums. You gotta pick ur spots. It’s a big state. You won’t get $400/hr in any of those proper areas

 

[Burned_Out]

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

Haha. That's nothing compared to the locums anesthesiologists who worked at a facility in Chico, CA over 10 years ago. One killed a quadraplegic patient by giving them sux for induction. The other dude didn't believe in automated (NIBP or invasive) blood pressure measurements. He believed that he could do a better job of estimating BP by just manually palpating the carotid pulse of his patients. He put into shock & killed a mother of 3 young kids using his guestimation technique. The local newspaper caught wind of the deaths and put the screws to that hospital such that they stopped using locums.

 

[kidthor]

Haha. That's nothing compared to the locums anesthesiologists who worked at a facility in Chico, CA over 10 years ago. One killed a quadraplegic patient by giving them sux for induction. The other dude didn't believe in automated (NIBP or invasive) blood pressure measurements. He believed that he could do a better job of estimating BP by just manually palpating the carotid pulse of his patients. He put into shock & killed a mother of 3 young kids using his guestimation technique. The local newspaper caught wind of the deaths and put the screws to that hospital such that they stopped using locums.

I’ve seen guys like that. They’re mostly dinosaurs who did anesthesiology when it was an unpopular 2 year residency. And some them are shockingly low energy.

 

[Ashers]

Haha. That's nothing compared to the locums anesthesiologists who worked at a facility in Chico, CA over 10 years ago. One killed a quadraplegic patient by giving them sux for induction. The other dude didn't believe in automated (NIBP or invasive) blood pressure measurements. He believed that he could do a better job of estimating BP by just manually palpating the carotid pulse of his patients. He put into shock & killed a mother of 3 young kids using his guestimation technique. The local newspaper caught wind of the deaths and put the screws to that hospital such that they stopped using locums.

I've been told that the quality of people doing locums has gone way up in the last few years. Where before it was people who couldn't hold a job, now it's people who want to take advantage of the pay and don't mind the travel eg. me. I've heard some of the stories of bad locums, but nothing like those!

 

[kidthor]

I've been told that the quality of people doing locums has gone way up in the last few years. Where before it was people who couldn't hold a job, now it's people who want to take advantage of the pay and don't mind the travel eg. me. I've heard some of the stories of bad locums, but nothing like those!

My impression is that same. It used to be that locums were viewed as losers who couldn’t hold down a job or perhaps older half-retired docs. Now locums is a smart move to make hay while the sun’s shining and control your destiny.

I think it’s a great shift, since it elevates the entire profession actually. It’s good to be in demand and to have locums as a great escape route if one’s current job isn’t meeting one’s needs.

 

[Coffee PRN]

I’ve seen guys like that. They’re mostly dinosaurs who did anesthesiology when it was an unpopular 2 year residency. And some them are shockingly low energy.

Who cares if someone is "low energy." This isn't residency where you have to fake enthusiasm and being peppy to fit an image. A lot of the times what's perceived as low energy is just introversion. As long as they do a good job and aren't a dick, why would that bother you?

 

[kidthor]

Who cares if someone is "low energy." This isn't residency where you have to fake enthusiasm and being peppy to fit an image. A lot of the times what's perceived as low energy is just introversion. As long as they do a good job and aren't a dick, why would that bother you?

I meant low energy in the way that they have a low CMRO2, move at a sloth’s pace, sneak out of work early, and would rather slow burn till a problem becomes someone else’s problem (eg the patient dies unless a coworker fixes the issue). Perhaps my word choice didn’t convey what I’d meant.

 

[aneftp]

My impression is that same. It used to be that locums were viewed as losers who couldn’t hold down a job or perhaps older half-retired docs. Now locums is a smart move to make hay while the sun’s shining and control your destiny.

I think it’s a great shift, since it elevates the entire profession actually. It’s good to be in demand and to have locums as a great escape route if one’s current job isn’t meeting one’s needs.

Probably 30-% of locums are still bad.

By bad. I mean not just clinical but personality wise.

Canceling cases. Refusing to be team players (they are 1099 independent after all) and going to different places. That’s just the beauty of locums. You get a say. Have this one locums refuse not even to sit own case. But also refuse to cover more than 2 rooms and give breaks. It’s in their contract. 100% supervision. lol. I’m not kidding

 

[Simba1711]

How hard is it to find locums just for the weekend ?

 

[Dr. Rude]

I meant low energy in the way that they have a low CMRO2, move at a sloth’s pace, sneak out of work early, and would rather slow burn till a problem becomes someone else’s problem (eg the patient dies unless a coworker fixes the issue). Perhaps my word choice didn’t convey what I’d meant.

Some slow moving lizards live a long time. You only get so many heartbeats. Don't waste them getting excited at work.

 

[narcotics999]

Some slow moving lizards live a long time. You only get so many heartbeats. Don't waste them getting excited at work.

Long live your turtle!

 

[Dr. Rude]

Long live your turtle!

Be the turtle.

 

[Test Boy]

Haha. That's nothing compared to the locums anesthesiologists who worked at a facility in Chico, CA over 10 years ago. One killed a quadraplegic patient by giving them sux for induction. The other dude didn't believe in automated (NIBP or invasive) blood pressure measurements. He believed that he could do a better job of estimating BP by just manually palpating the carotid pulse of his patients. He put into shock & killed a mother of 3 young kids using his guestimation technique. The local newspaper caught wind of the deaths and put the screws to that hospital such that they stopped using locums.

That’s outrageously bad. Hope they were both forcibly retired or severely punished.

 

[GravelRider]

Probably 30-% of locums are still bad.

By bad. I mean not just clinical but personality wise.

Canceling cases. Refusing to be team players (they are 1099 independent after all) and going to different places. That’s just the beauty of locums. You get a say. Have this one locums refuse not even to sit own case. But also refuse to cover more than 2 rooms and give breaks. It’s in their contract. 100% supervision. lol. I’m not kidding

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve moved the needle too far in the “get any case” done direction. It probably wouldn’t be a terrible thing for surgeons to get a little pushback on some of these trainwrecks they want to bring to the OR.

 

[NumTacos]

That’s outrageously bad. Hope they were both forcibly retired or severely punished.

ROSNOW, JAN MARIE - Licensee Information - Oklahoma Medical Board

 

[triggermaster]

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Sometimes I wonder if we’ve moved the needle too far in the “get any case” done direction. It probably wouldn’t be a terrible thing for surgeons to get a little pushback on some of these trainwrecks they want to bring to the OR.

Everyone would need protection from the lawyers.
I used to work with a surgeon who did a lot of debridement of decubitus ulcers on demented corpses. I thought he was a p.o.s. until I found out he didn’t want to do it either, but the families insisted.

 

[coffeebythelake]

ROSNOW, JAN MARIE - Licensee Information - Oklahoma Medical Board

Her credentials mean nothing

 

[aneftp]

Over prescribing meds

Signing off on charts in hospice

Yes. Shady stuff.

But nothing I see as true clinical incompetence to be honest. Just dishonestly.

If the same person were say a hospital administrator cooking the books and directing accountants to fudge numbers to make it look better. Should they banned from hospital administration work? They should but they aren’t.

View attachment 378601

Her credentials mean nothing

 

[nimbus]

Over prescribing meds

Signing off on charts in hospice

Yes. Shady stuff.

But nothing I see as true clinical incompetence to be honest. Just dishonestly.

If the same person were say a hospital administrator cooking the books and directing accountants to fudge numbers to make it look better. Should they banned from hospital administration work? They should but they aren’t.

Enloe sued in three surgery deaths

Two doctors who worked as temporary anesthesiologists at Enloe Medical Center are named as defendants in malpractice lawsuits filed in the deaths of three patients. The deaths occurred between Oct.…

www.chicoer.com

 

[nimbus]

Haha. That's nothing compared to the locums anesthesiologists who worked at a facility in Chico, CA over 10 years ago. One killed a quadraplegic patient by giving them sux for induction. The other dude didn't believe in automated (NIBP or invasive) blood pressure measurements. He believed that he could do a better job of estimating BP by just manually palpating the carotid pulse of his patients. He put into shock & killed a mother of 3 young kids using his guestimation technique. The local newspaper caught wind of the deaths and put the screws to that hospital such that they stopped using locums.

The “guesstimation technique” was drilled in to trainees before oximetry, capnometry, and automated BP were universally adopted. A precordial stethoscope, a finger on the temporal or carotid artery, and traintrack hand charted anesthesia records were de rigueur. One of my friends and mentors, a pediatric anesthesiologist, said some of his colleagues would snicker when he wheeled his personal, large, unwieldy capnometer on a cart between rooms for his cases. This was in the 1980s.

But the “guesstimator” you refer to trained in the 1990s so I don’t understand his excuse. By then NIBP, oximetry and capnometry were all standard monitors.

 

[nimbus]

I had an attending that believed that oxygen is evil. Thought nothing is worse than causing free radical damage. Loves room air. Would never pre-oxygenate, even on sick thoracic cases for DLT. Would routinely leave pts with low sats (like satting in the 50's) for a very long time post induction and adjust from RA -> 30%, wait a few min, 35%, wait a few min, 40%, etc. Would leave pts satting low 80's in PACU.

He would also induce people via TIVA. Like have me hook up the prop at 100 mcg/kg/min and press start and just wait for pt to sleep while everyone's staring at me and him. Talk about a long induction.

We had to tell the board runner to at least stop putting him with residents

So how did his patients do?

 

[aneftp]

Enloe sued in three surgery deaths

Two doctors who worked as temporary anesthesiologists at Enloe Medical Center are named as defendants in malpractice lawsuits filed in the deaths of three patients. The deaths occurred between Oct.…

www.chicoer.com

I’m very familiar with enloe. I know the details well duh. I worked there briefly after that event.

The only difference between enloe and other hospitals using locums docs is how well they sweep bad events under the table. Just within the past 12 months. I know 4 hospitals including top rated hospitals very similar events. Deaths, patient recall (locums didn’t turn on sevo during long eras case and patient complaints , wrong sided blocks. You name it. It’s happened with locums.

You really think this stuff doesn’t happen everywhere? It does. Sheer volume of cases are hospital everywhere. Stuff happens. Yes deaths.

I have a large network of friends everywhere.

Just two days ago. Locums got patient coded with bad intravascular nerve block.

Just depends how well the hospitals cover things up

2 years ago Gi doc killed a patient having rn push propofol on Saturday morning cause anesthesia was not available cause doing cases in OR. Did you hear about it? Nope.