Locums

[sweetalkr]

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Hey yall
i was considering taking 6 months off before my fellowship and doing some locums work for a few months, then traveling.

if i were to do my locums in, for example, north dakota, do i have to pay/get a permanent license for north dakota? or does the locums company take care of that? how does it work?

also, any tips on getting locums jobs?

thanks

 

[omegaman]

Hey yall
i was considering taking 6 months off before my fellowship and doing some locums work for a few months, then traveling.

if i were to do my locums in, for example, north dakota, do i have to pay/get a permanent license for north dakota? or does the locums company take care of that? how does it work?

also, any tips on getting locums jobs?

thanks

Everything is negotiable. If you promise to take a long term locums assignment in an unpopular state like winter in ND they will pay for your license. For short assignments and competitive locations you will need to already have a license. The more licenses you have the better your chance of getting work. With only one or two licenses you many have a difficult time finding a locums job.

locum is good experience for a new graduate. Their are so many places that are run by crooks and liars, so by doing some locums you might be able to learn a Little about the business of anesthesia without making the costly mistake of working for a evil AMC or bad group.

Most new graduates only work for a year in their first job. I suspect that that is because they do not know what to look for in a job. The New Graduate invariably make a bad choice either; 1) They get suckered into the partnership lie at a group that wants cheap labor with the empty promise of partnership they will never be offered, 2) They work for the imaginary bonus lie at an anesthesia management company where after working for a year they never get the promised bonus and quit. 3) They take an employed job at a hospital work endless hours and too frequent call get burnt out and quit.

Locums gives a New Graduate the opportunity to work at a number of places talk to the current employees and find the job that is right for them. Physicians with some Locum experience may be seen as undesirable by the undesirable types of employers mentioned above because they know that if the job, the pay or the working conditions deteriorate they can call the locums agency and be working somewhere else in less than 30 days. If you are competent you will be offered a permanent position at least half of the locations that are assigned as locums physician.

The_Sensei is right; “ Problem is there aren't that many GOOD jobs; much more prevalent are the locums gigs where you're makin' this kind of cash....”

$1500 a day is 375K per year without taking any call or working more than 8 hours per day. In at 0700 out at 1500.

With decent jobs hard to find. You will not be able to match that kind of income unless you get awarded the anesthesia contract. Yes some anesthesia management company liar will promise that kind of income, “partnership income from day one” but will be paid thru the imaginary bonus plan. I.E. work for 6 month to a year at 150K per year and be fired for demanding to be paid your bonus.
OR You could slave away (80 hour per week at 150K) for two to five years to make partner, then be fired just before you make partner to be replaced by a new graduate or learn that the group is loosing money and partner make little or nothing.

Yes working locum has problems. I have talked to a number of employers who have looked at the dozen plus location that I have worked and said they don’t hire locums doctors since they are too unstable. I attribute that to employers desire to employ for New graduates or MDA the will not stick up for their rights, who will work 24/7 for very low wages for the lie that they will make partner or get a non existent bonus.
With locums you know what you will get paid you work 12 hour you get 12 hours of pay two week later not a lie about a bonus at the end of the year. I have been never lied to by locums agencies about my pay or worked call or extra hours for nothing something that has happened regularly at every permanent job I have had.