Locum Jobs PART 1: Where Expertise Meets Opportunities

Summary:

Locum jobs for doctors combine medical skills with diversity. Gen Z today values work-life balance; so learn about 'locum' and how this lucrative career option in healthcare can give you just that.  

Locum Jobs for Doctors: The Red Pill to Swallow

You are at a crossroads in your medical career, wondering which pill to swallow. You take the blue pill, and the story runs tied to the apron strings—where days, months, weekends, and festivities look humdrum. Or you leap and gulp the red one—where the brick-and-mortar doctor’s journey takes a hairpin bend, catalyzing a real change. Locum jobs in healthcare are one such red pill that drops the guard for doctors and truly defines ‘healing knows no boundaries’. This un-explored, challenging, yet lucrative career in healthcare can polish your skillset, define your clinical eye, set your adrenaline pumping, and yet keep you abreast of personal commitments. Stay tuned as we discuss what are locum jobs, locum jobs for doctors near me, their benefits, and how to score the best locum profiles (1).

What Are Locum Jobs?

The complete term is ‘locum tenens’ which in Latin means to ‘hold the place of’.

These are ideally temporary clinical positions filled by qualified medical professionals. Locum tenens work in the healthcare sector entails joining or substituting at a healthcare organization due to a temporary lack of staffing.

However, in common parlance, shift-based jobs to accommodate maximum work hours, like in a hospital, could also be referred to as locum.

The Benefits of Locum Jobs for Doctors

Why would you want to know about ‘locum’? As a doctor, locum jobs seem like a temporary fix to your career, isn’t it?

While locum jobs sound like walking a tightrope that’s short-lived, you will be amazed to know how a whopping population of medical organizations and healthcare workers like doctors, dentists, nurses, and paramedics have opted for locum positions in the past decade. However, most of these reflect statistical data from countries like the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—India is still at a beginner’s grade on the locum front (2),(3),(4).

Let us understand why locum jobs for doctors could be your next best choice for a job switch:

• Freedom and Flexibility of Work Schedules

Locum allows you to choose your work days, work hours, and appointment schedule. You have the freedom to play around with your schedule while keeping your daily duties running smoothly. Corporate control, staff meetings, and organizational targets do not bite into your work hours.

• Higher Pay-Scales and Added Income

Locum positions are usually filled when push comes to shove—you step in when the organization needs you the most. Hence, many locum tenens positions offer competitive pay rates and compensation packages, allowing doctors to optimize their earnings. You could opt for GP locum jobs while on a break or in-between jobs.

However, a survey done by Anastomos earlier this year on pan-India multispecialty hospitals showed some contradictory results in Indian clinical settings. It was noted that organizations lacked a proper SOP for hiring and paying locum professionals, resulting in significant irrational salary demands and irregular pay.

• Opportunity to Work in Diverse Clinical Settings

Exposure to a variety of practices and medical settings fosters lifelong learning, adaptation, and professional development. Locum employment provides you with more independence and decision-making ability, which contributes to a sense of professional empowerment. Experimenting with clinical methods and healthcare systems improves your adaptability and problem-solving abilities.

Locum jobs could be the real test drive for the healthcare specialty you want to excel at in the future!

• Better Networking and Social Growth

You meet healthcare professionals from different walks of medicine; building a rapport with them broadens your horizons. Working in a variety of contexts allows you to develop a broad network of professional contacts, which can be beneficial for potential careers in the future.

• Travel Options

Highly unlikely in an Indian scenario, locum roles in the West send doctors across borders, allowing them to learn about other countries and cultures while practicing medicine. Upskilling your knowledge about medical legalities and health technology in different parts of the nation could be of great help to your career.

• Spot-on Work-Life Balance

With autonomy over assignments, you can seamlessly integrate personal commitments, hobbies, and relaxation. This balance is good for rejuvenation, prevents burnout, and supports overall well-being. By choosing when and where to work, locum physicians strike an equilibrium between professional fulfillment and personal moments.

Apart from that, for young healthcare professionals, you can choose this opportunity to study further while keeping the employment ball rolling—in fact, you might be able to fund your own studies!

• Options for Temporary Breaks

You can take time off when you need to. Locum possibilities can be used to supplement a full-time job and provide a welcome change of pace. Unlike many permanent positions or contractual cases, locum can give you a cool-off period to think and plan your career and finances better.

• No Office Politics or Hierarchical Abuse

Locum jobs for doctors are a respite from office politics and hierarchical abuse, offering you a focused, collaborative, and healthy work environment where patient care takes precedence. When you do not have to worry about corporate power struggles, you can concentrate on delivering quality work with professionalism and teamwork.

• Less Administrative Burden

Locum doctors typically have fewer administrative responsibilities (apart from documentation and charting) than permanent doctors, allowing them to focus more on patient care.

• The Autonomy Gives Work Satisfaction

Locum doctors have more control over their medical decisions, which contributes to a sense of professional fulfillment. This may be personally rewarding and provide real work satisfaction.

Locum tenens come with a sizeable portion of benefits and rewards for healthcare professionals (1). Having said that let us see, what is expected of a locum professional on duty.

Duties of a Locum Doctor

As a locum doctor, your duties are similar to those of any other healthcare professional, but with a slight tweak (5). Without meandering about the roles and responsibilities of a healthcare professional, let’s talk about the X-factors that may come in handy before adorning a ‘locum role’:

• As a professional, you need to excel at quickly adapting to new work environments while maintaining clinical competence.

• You are expected to be adept at regularly diagnosing, treating, and managing a variety of health issues. It is important to be able to perform examinations, interpret tests, and design effective treatment programs independently.

• Stress your communication skills and empathy. They help build patient and colleague rapport faster.

• You should be able to manipulate unfriendly technical and HR issues without compromising your work ethic.

• For GP locum jobs or specialties, you are expected to be updated on medical emergency management. The ability to think methodically and make decisions under stress comes in handy in locum positions.

• A locum healthcare professional’s repertoire includes diligent documentation and patient charting. Always remember to log all patient details on time for a better understanding of your colleagues and streamlined workflows.

Locum doctors contribute significantly to the healthcare landscape by carrying out these responsibilities. However, like in all other walks of life, locum jobs also come with considerable drawbacks.

Pain Points of Locum Jobs in Healthcare

Though locum jobs for doctors seem like a breath of fresh air for many, let us explore the flip side of this diamond in the rough.

The challenges of GP locum jobs:

• Lack of Credentialing

Credentialing ensures treatment standards by closely scrutinizing doctors' qualifications and licenses. This is a major hurdle in recruitment, as rapid credentialing portals for locum staff, short-term employees, and emergency doctors barely exist.

Our survey revealed that organizations in India still prefer an in-house doctor/staff that were hired on referrals/recommendations over online recruitment for locum jobs (6).

• Poor Hiring Portals

While the last decade has seen a paradigm shift in the online hiring of doctors and healthcare professionals worldwide, there are a meager few who offer the option of doctor locum jobs. The process may remain highly ambiguous at times.

We, at Anastomos, are one such unique platform that has a dedicated team to walk you through the process of finding locum jobs or hiring locum staff from anywhere within the country. Visit https://anastomos.com/locum to understand your locum options much better.

• Improper Distribution of Locum Staff

Our survey at Anastomos showed that locum jobs flocked primarily at the emergency room and OPD facilities, with another sizeable portion in the ICU. Specialists, GPs, and nurses often miss out on locum options.

• Unawareness of Technology and Workflow

This is a valid point, that needs industry attention now—locum doctors and staff are often unaware of the established workflows and technology used in organizations that may affect patient care and communication for a substantial period.

With the latest advent of AI and digital workflows, automated and streamlined processes can help organizations avoid losing out on fruitful work hours with locum staff.

• Absence of Professional and Emotional Support

Many higher-ups in the healthcare hierarchy may still stigmatize temporary professionals. Some studies show how locums are marginalized, affecting teamwork, identity, and safety (7).

For many people seeking a change in the work culture of the healthcare industry, locum tenens positions for doctors can be a good option, despite their pros and cons. Feel free to explore this as a career option in healthcare with Anastomos today.

Takeaway

In the intricate web of healthcare, locum jobs for doctors are pivotal yet overlooked. As we review these medical nomads, we bring to you the silver lining and the challenges that ripple through the prospects of GP locum jobs. While in European countries like the UK, locum jobs have captured the spotlight, nations like India have yet to explore these waters. 

Anastomos, the brainchild of some of the most renowned medical professionals in the country, has hit the road by bridging the gaps that hinder the integration of the locum concept in India. Hop on to Part 2 of the article for some quick insights, tips, and tricks for locum options in Indian healthcare.