Are you interested in extra clinic work to help pay off medical student loans or increase your income? Or does your healthcare facility need a quick stand-in for Physicians or Advanced Practice Professionals who are on leave? Locum tenens healthcare providers could be your solution.

What is Locum Tenens?

Locum tenens is Latin and means "to hold a place." Healthcare facilities hire locum tenens providers to fill vacant positions temporarily or account for increases in patient demand. Using locum tenens work is one of the quickest staffing solutions for ensuring a medical facility always has qualified professionals to care for patients. Depending on a facility's unique requirements, a locum tenens job may be long- or short-term. Locum tenens positions may be offered for a Physician, Physician's Assistant (PA), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Licensed Counselor, or another medical practitioner.

What Does Locum Tenens Physician Mean?

Even though the term has Latin origins, locum tenens Physicians originated in the US. It started in the 1970s when the federal government awarded a grant to the University of Utah to fund Physician staffing for understaffed healthcare facilities in the western United States. Today, US medical facilities are experiencing a Physician shortage and a rising scarcity of healthcare providers overall. Specialties experiencing the highest medical personnel shortages are radiology, internal medicine, critical care, surgeons, and emergency medicine. More hospitals are looking to locum tenens Physician staffing solutions to plug gaps of staffing shortages and ensure patients can access quality healthcare when they need it. A locum tenens Physician temporarily fills in for other physicians, for example, while healthcare organizations are looking for candidates to fill permanent jobs. The assignment can last for anywhere from days to months. CRNAs, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Practice Providers,, and other Clinical Care Professionals can all take temporary jobs. It all depends on if the practitioner's specialty is in demand. These days in the healthcare industry, that is almost any specialty, depending on what part of the country you are in. Aside from hospitals, locum providers can serve in government and military facilities, outpatient clinics, community health centers, group practices, correctional facilities, and other healthcare system centers.

Who Can Become a Locum Physician?

Any Physician with one or more specialties can find locum tenens positions. For example, a medical school graduate can gain real-world experience in the health sector through locum jobs and earn more money to pay off school debts faster. A senior Physician who is not ready to retire can switch to full-time locum practice. It will provide better control over their schedule without interfering with their delivery of quality care to patients. If you are at the midpoint of your career as a healthcare provider, you can use locum jobs as an opportunity to travel and re-strategize your career path.

How Much Does Locum Tenens Pay?

Some physicians take locum jobs to diversify their clinical experience, enjoy career flexibility, and prevent burnout. However, most healthcare providers do it for extra income. Recent data shows that in all specialties, full-time locum tenens physicians, on average, earn $32.45 per hour more than permanent-only doctors. Specialty, location of the job, experience, and other factors affect how much locum doctors can earn. Below are the average pay ranges for various locum tenens specialties:

• Family medicine and Internal medicine: $100 to $135/hour
• Critical care: $190 to $265/hour
• Radiology: $175 to $245/hour
• Hospitalist: $150 to $180/hour
• Emergency medicine: $160 to $300/hour
• Obstetrics and Gynecology: $110 to $150/hour

Advanced practice providers are also in high demand. Due to their scarcity, Advanced Practitioners attract some of the best locum pay rates.

How to Find Locums Jobs

Whether you are looking for locum tenens opportunities in Radiology, Critical Care, or Internal Medicine, you can apply directly or use a staff recruitment agency. If you apply directly to a healthcare facility, you will have to negotiate the terms of your locum contract yourself. Choosing to work with locum tenens agencies has several perks.

Advantages of Getting Locum Tenens Contracts through an Agency

Full-service staffing agencies and tech enabled staffing platforms like Caliber ensure that locum job seekers, like you, have:

More Job Opportunities and Consistent Work

We can place you in a locum tenens assignment that matches your specialty. We handle the job search, so you do not have to. When one contract ends, we can quickly set you up with another and avoid extensive downtime between assignments (unless you want it, of course, which can be another perk of working locum tenens jobs).

Options That Fit Your Needs

Do you need full-time or part-time medical work? Our staffing industry analysts team will get you a place where you can earn satisfying rates. We can also provide you with jobs in rural or urban communities for you to build diverse on-the-job experience.

Customized to Your Specialty

Our robust network gives you access to select specialty jobs. We will help prepare your resume to make you the most attractive candidate once we match you to a great job, increasing your chances of being selected.

Better Benefits

As a full-service locum staffing agency, Caliber will protect healthcare professional’s rights to on-time compensation and ensure you receive the agreed-upon benefits, which may include:

• Assistance with credentialing and licensure
• Comprehensive medical malpractice coverage
• Paid travel and housing for assignments
• Relocation assistance for you and your family
• Ongoing support
• Consulting service

Are Locum Tenens Opportunities Available in Every State?

Openings for temporary medical jobs are in all 50 states through locum tenens staffing companies. Options are available within various areas of healthcare practice. Specialties like Obstetrics and Gynecology, Advanced Practice, Radiology, Internal Medicine Physicians or Physician Assistants, Hospitalists, Psychiatrists, and Anesthesiology are some of the most demanded from our clients. We can get you full- or part-time staff opportunities in large healthcare facilities or smaller ones in rural areas. Provide us with your specifications, and we will take care of the rest.

How Can I Find the Best Locum Tenens Company?

Are you considering becoming a locum tenens Physician because you want more money and work flexibility? Then you have come to the right locum tenens company. With Caliber, staffing industry analysts take care of our clients by helping them find the most attractive locum jobs with the best pay rates without the back-and-forth of working with a traditional recruiting firm. As experts in the locum tenens industry, let us handle finding temporary clinical work opportunities that match your preferences. You focus on providing your patients with the best care possible. We can find work options for you in locations that fit your long- or short-term career goals and enhance your resume. Start by signing up for Caliber today to discover locum tenens opportunities in your preferred specialty and state.