Read time: 4 minutes
“So, how do I get started with locum tenens?”
If I can make this happen from a combination of post-call days, nights, and weekends, then you can too. The entire process below took ~12 months: from the time I was denied a request to work fewer hours to the time I signed my first agreement.
But there’s no reason why this can’t be done in under 3-4 months, if you are focused!
At first, I didn’t know anyone who had made the leap, but after sharing my thoughts with colleagues, I found 3 solid contacts. That was my start.
Background Research
I talked to the only 3 people who I knew personally who had made the complete leap to locum tenens doctoring.
- A Pulmonology/Critical Care doc, a decade my senior, who found a way to work one week a month upstate and yet be home in NYC more than she ever had when working at a big NYC hospital.
- A friend from med school who, straight out of residency, joined an emergency medicine locum group that covered a couple dozen ER’s across New Jersey.
- And a current close friend Anesthesiologist who jumped ship from our mutual prior employer and could give me actionable info regarding our specific metro area.
I googled everything about the process I could find. I searched Reddit, Student Doctor Network, and GasWorks listings. Find the forums and job boards for your specialty.
After doing copious research, you must have a sense of hourly pay for your specialty. And not only for your specialty, but also your specific state and region. When you look through jobs later in the process, you will need to be armed with knowledge of what you are willing to accept. You will need to give specific parameters for your agencies to find you locum gigs.
Family Decision
I discussed the options before me with my wife and made sure that our expectations’ were aligned. I wanted her to know that there would be more uncertainties going down this path. She was adamant that I find a way to claw back my time and shed my misery. I love her.
Find Agencies
I went on the NALTO (National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations) website members directory to find agencies and contacted every one of them either by the listed email contact or a webform with a short script (and yes, I know it was weak!):
“I’m interested in locum options as an anesthesiologist and am interested in working anywhere in the country that offers a great opportunity covering any adult case types. I am Board Certified in Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography. I have been in practice for almost 5 years at a major quaternary care medical center taking care of very sick patients as a Cardiac Anesthesiologist (50%) and Intensivist (50%).”
In fact, I did contact every member on the NALTO directory at the time. The marginal cost to contacting an additional agency is very small after you’ve contacted dozens.
Create a “Work” Email, You Will Thank Me Later
Only use a specific locum/independent work email because you will be overwhelmed. Do not use your employer email, employer phone, or any of your current employer’s resources to do so as it is likely in violation of your terms of employment. That means no wifi, no office desktop. Do this on your own time, on your own data connection.
If you have access to a separate phone number, for the same reason, use it instead. I refused to answer, and still refuse to answer random calls, instead I only talk if we have scheduled call.
Talk to Agents and Tell Them What You Do
Some understand your specific skill set and what you do fairly well. But most of the time, you will be talking to someone young and inexperienced. Hard sales types are the worst.
The benefit to talking with many recruiters is that you can gain insight into the process: I wanted to learn as much as I could about the process, what standards in the industry were, etc.
With this approach, you will find at least a handful that you will pursue discussions with for whatever reasons. I wanted people to be professional and knowledgeable. It turns out the majority are women and the majority of the good ones are women. I think this is just the demographics of the job. It might also be that all the men I am contacted by are too pushy, too much like used car salesmen. Why can’t they let the job sell itself?!?
Work with the agents/recruiters you choose. Set parameters on what you are, or are not, willing to do. You might say, “I’m looking for jobs that pay at least X… I am not willing to cover pediatric patients below the age of 8… I will only travel for positions that are less than an hour from the airport… I am not willing to cover (as an anesthesiologist) 4 rooms.”
DON’T RUSH
I had a mental timeline of when a reasonable time to leave my full-time job would be and I wanted to give at least 100 days of notice (completely arbitrary). (You are not required to give a period of notice prior to leaving a job if you are employed “at-will.”) From first contact with agencies, to signing my first agreement it took about 6 or 7 weeks.
If you have the choice, don’t jump. I understand if you are reading this and you are desperate, but the last thing you want to do is to “rush into a gunfight” as they say. Jobs are desperate for locum work and pay well because others can’t, won’t, or shouldn’t work there. Your job is to stay calm until you have a reasonable understanding of the situation. Don’t be afraid to ask for the contact information of someone placed there in a similar capacity. For example, I have spoken to nurse anesthetists to give me the real nitty-gritty on OR culture since my agency didn’t have any doctors placed there recently.
Your recruiter/agent from the agency, and the agency themselves, make money when you make money. Usually, the hospital contracts them for a set rate and your total compensation (pay, travel, etc.) comes out of that. The remainder is for the agency. They have an incentive for you to find a good fit where you can be successful and satisfied.
Getting started at locum tenens and finding a desirable assignment aren’t hard tasks. It just seems daunting from the outside looking in. Don’t let that stop you from getting what you want.
Summary
- Do your homework, don’t settle, don’t leave things undone. This is your life and career.
- Be specific. Ask for what you want. Be clear.
- It cannot be overstated: Do not rush the start. Do not be desperate.
- Learn the unwritten rules of locum tenens through experience… or just read my guide here: https://tonyvullo.com/articles/the-unwritten-rules-of-locum-…
Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help:
1) Let’s talk through what choosing your own path through medicine looks like. Over the phone, confidential, free:
https://calendly.com/tonyvullo/20min
2) Free Guides and Resources to Help You Reclaim Your Time and Autonomy:
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