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I have had less than ideal interactions with a few locums agencies. Are there any in our world of medicine that people have general good impressions of?
Locums companies
- Thread starter xavier2000
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I would also like to know too.
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I completely understand why people use locum companies, but if there is any way to avoid them, I highly recommend doing so. We recently interviewed a doctor who was local but went through a locum company. We were completely unable to to hire him as he is only employable to us through them for 2 years at an absurd hourly rate. He would have been a great fit and was very excited to work for us, only to find out he ruined any chance using locums. Obviously this does not apply if you are trying to work outside an area where you know people, but keep in mind if you are making $150-200/hour the company is getting $250-300 per hour. Friendly reminder to network, network, and network if you want to land an ideal job. The best jobs are never on a locum on employment website.
How were your interactions "less than ideal?"
I keep in contact with upperclassmen that graduated my program. They were happy with:
- weatherby
- locumtenens
There were a few more, but those two were the most well-liked.
You're looking at this from an employer's point of view. Sure the cost is high. But how easy is it for you to find doctors without a staffing agency?
And from the employee's point of view, if you only want to pay the doctor $150 - 200 / hr, what makes your place more attractive than the many other places that offer the same or higher rates?
The appeal of these agencies is that I can focus on work. I don't have to spend my time to find jobs (especially if I don't know the area), to call prospective employers up, to find my own malpractice. If someone else can fill out papers for me and to set up transportation and lodging, that would also save me time.
Basically, they offer something attractive: minimal hassle, higher pay, and reduced risk if things don't work out (as they pay for the transportation and lodging and malpractice).
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I have had positive experiences with Jackson and Coker , Weatherby, and All Star, I would avoid FCS.
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The downside of Locums is once the facililty finds someone less expensive, you are out. But sometimes if it's in a remote area of if you fish and ask a few questions, you can sometimes figure out what facility they are hiring for and apply independently.
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Do hospitals only work through locums companies? Can you call them directly?
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Some do...but many you can call directly
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If you have a particular region in mind, you really shouldn’t use a locus company. Contacting programs and employers directly takes a little time, but you can negotiate a much higher salary than you would get through a locums company since you are eliminating their large overhead. Aside from contacting big employers in the area, look for any local networking events, state or regional APA or mental health events. Also look to the nearest psych residency program and contact them. I am in a leadership role at a residency and we get calls from folks looking for work. Since a majority of residency grads stay in the area and many wisely stay in touch, we have a pretty good finger on the pulse for who is looking to hire in our general area and even folks we don’t have contact with reach out.
If you do not have a particular region in mind, use the locum companies and get on their mailing lists (not hard; you get on them without wanting to after attending APA or the like). You will see trends for where the jobs are often coming from and/or the ones with the highest salaries, the follow the steps in the paragraph above.
I would go the locum route if I wanted a short gig in a particular place (a few months in Alaska or coastal Maine?). Other than that, I don’t see a particularly strong need. And locums tend to operate in areas that are desperate for people for reasons of locale (in which case you can find jobs yourself without much trouble) or because a particular job is a unique $hitshow (in which case you would be wise to steer clear anyway).
If you do not have a particular region in mind, use the locum companies and get on their mailing lists (not hard; you get on them without wanting to after attending APA or the like). You will see trends for where the jobs are often coming from and/or the ones with the highest salaries, the follow the steps in the paragraph above.
I would go the locum route if I wanted a short gig in a particular place (a few months in Alaska or coastal Maine?). Other than that, I don’t see a particularly strong need. And locums tend to operate in areas that are desperate for people for reasons of locale (in which case you can find jobs yourself without much trouble) or because a particular job is a unique $hitshow (in which case you would be wise to steer clear anyway).
Here are some good information about locum tenens:
A comprehensive locum tenens guide for physicians
Interested in being a locum tenens physician? Read this first.
In the second link, the author talked about her experiences with the various staffing agencies and rated them.
A comprehensive locum tenens guide for physicians
Interested in being a locum tenens physician? Read this first.
In the second link, the author talked about her experiences with the various staffing agencies and rated them.
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Some of that is true if you are out of the area you are locuming in, but is patently untrue if the jobs are in your city. They do not offer higher pay, that's just patently untrue. You think a company is going to pay you the best take home +$100/hour to an agency? Also companies worth their salt will also take care of much of your paperwork and make onboarding as easy as possible because their goal is to recruit and retain physicians.
If you can't handle cold calling people, networking in your area, etc and just want to fill undesirable jobs with medicore pay (admittedly with limited hassle) then locum away and let someone else make a lot of money on your medical training. If you are looking for a chance to see the world that many in medicine miss out on, certainly agency work makes sense. But going from agency work to employed work was a huge economic boon for myself, and I would hate for docs to miss out because they are shy about interviews and working with employers.
Would you mind giving details about your transition from agency work to employed work and how it worked out better? I'm very open to learning about something I don't know.
Most of the doctors I speak to do locums work and make more than if they were employed. For example, from the ways they structured their deals, they're making way over $200 / hr. I wouldn't consider their pay mediocre at all. Granted, these doctors don't look for positions in just one city.
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There's a lot to take into account when looking at hourly rates. FICA tax for 1099, cost of benefits, disability, life insurance, 401k contributions, vacation, CME funding, etc. My hourly rate was a low $160, although I was a fellow at the time, and I don't think I could have squeezed much more out of that opportunity (non-profit doing poorly financially). My effective hourly rate is now north of $200 but I also get all the benefits above (except vacation, that pay is counting vacation). I can and do also internally moonlight when it works for me for an extra bumb.
If you want to work in major metropolis's (particularly if you already live in one), you are just not getting paid more when you take into account benefits + pay vs agency work in or near the city. There are absolutely some jobs somewhere that will pay more but come with considerable lifestyle costs. Even if you do land an extremely good $250/hour gig after taxes and benefits you end up close to an employed position without any contract stability and almost assuredly in less desirable systems or cities.
If you want to work in major metropolis's (particularly if you already live in one), you are just not getting paid more when you take into account benefits + pay vs agency work in or near the city. There are absolutely some jobs somewhere that will pay more but come with considerable lifestyle costs. Even if you do land an extremely good $250/hour gig after taxes and benefits you end up close to an employed position without any contract stability and almost assuredly in less desirable systems or cities.
I worked with Xander Healthecare Service. I had a great experience. They are based in Maryland : 410-235-1767
