Medical students have dreams of where they wish to work. However, they might find these dreams on the back burner once they complete medical school and residency. Why not take a position as a locum tenen and live out that dream?
Finding the Right Balance
By choosing a locum tenens agency, a new or experienced doctor can find positions that support their chosen lifestyle. For example, they may spend a summer working in a remote mining camp to earn money so they can ski during the winter months. Another person might visit disaster areas and provide medical care and support. Once the assignment finishes, they can explore nearby cities and countries and save on travel expenses because they are already in the region.
Locum tenens receive higher salaries than their peers who take on permanent positions. This allows them to explore different environments and cultures while receiving higher pay. It also allows them to find the right balance between work and home and pursue the lifestyle they envisioned in medical school.
Humanitarian Work
People enter the medical field because they want to help others. They may choose to do so through humanitarian work. Wilderness medical outposts and isolated island communities are two areas where locum tenens may be needed. The individual may do a short-term stay in one of these areas or ask for a six to 12-month assignment. People often associate Doctors Without Borders with this type of assignment. However, medical professionals don’t have to go through this organization when other options are available. Men and women who take on these challenging assignments often feel they return as better clinicians as they encounter experiences they otherwise wouldn’t.
Unusual Opportunities
People often assume locum tenens positions are in undesirable locations. They are surprised they may be offered a temporary position in a non-traditional environment. For example, cruise ships need doctors. When they are short-staffed, they may turn to a locum tenens agency to fill the position. Imagine spending six months on a boat and being paid for it. While a person might find their pay is less when they take on this type of assignment, the perks make the work worthwhile.
A person who loves to hike and ski may be offered a position where they can climb or trek mountains as part of rescue missions or care for climbers and trekkers in basecamp medical clinics. Medical professionals may also work in remote areas such as Antarctica, although positions like these often require attending experience at a minimum.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Locum Tenens Work
Medical professionals often focus on getting out of school and beginning to pay their student loans. They want to do something enjoyable after their long residency. There are positives to taking a permanent position immediately after school and benefits to working as a locum.
Individuals who serve as locum tenens encounter a wide range of cases. They are forced to think quickly on their feet and experience different situations they may encounter in their role as physicians or other medical professionals. The additional pay they receive when taking on these positions will help them repay their student loans sooner.
Nevertheless, individuals also need to consider the drawbacks. They won’t have a permanent position, guaranteed pay, vacation, or sick leave. They must account for this in these positions and prepare for the future. Doing so will allow them to explore many areas of medicine before taking a permanent position in an established long-term location.