While some locum tenens needs come up unexpectedly, others—such as holiday coverage—can be planned ahead. Many hospitals begin preparing for the holidays months in advance, making summer a great time to secure high-demand assignments. If you want to take advantage of the benefits of holiday locums, now is the time to connect with your consultant.
What are the benefits of holiday locums assignments?
There’s a reason that assignments during the holiday season tend to book up early––holiday assignments offer a number of benefits for locums physicians and advanced practice providers, including:
- Supplemental Income: assignments during the holiday season tend to pay at higher rates, especially because any shifts on federal holidays pay at time and a half. Practicing over the holidays gives you the opportunity to earn supplemental income to pay down medical school debt or save toward your financial goals.
- Predictable scheduling: Hospital facilities can plan their holiday coverage months in advance, which means you can plan ahead, too.
- Travel Benefits: if you’re considering traveling somewhere specific for the holidays––whether to be closer to your family, or to escape winter weather for a warmer climate––you can ask your consultant to be on the lookout for assignments in that area.
The holiday season can be a great opportunity to supplement your income while helping facilities meet critical staffing needs. Since these assignments can be highly sought after, early planning makes all the difference.
How early do I need to plan my holiday locums assignments?
When it comes to planning for holiday locums assignments, the earlier you start, the better!
Most hospitals require that their full-time staff submit any holiday paid time off (PTO) requests far in advance, so they can secure holiday coverage as early as possible. In some cases, hospitals start recruiting for holiday assignments as early as the first quarter, so they can ensure they are adequately staffed during the busy holiday season. Because holiday locums pay at higher rates, there’s also more competition for those assignments––which makes it even more important to plan as early as possible.
If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start looking at your calendar to determine your holiday plans, and see where locums might fit in. Once you have a sense of your schedule, connect with your locums consultant to let them know what dates you’re available, where you’re willing to travel, and they’ll get to work finding assignments for you.
What should I expect from holiday locums assignments?
During the rest of the year, rural facilities where it takes longer to staff permanent positions tend to need the most coverage. But over the holiday season, hospitals in every area of the country may look for locums physicians and APPs, since many full-time providers take leave during that time.
For the most part, holiday assignments are no different than any other locums assignment, but in certain specialties or facilities, you might see higher patient volumes than usual. This is especially true of emergency medicine, given the fact that ER visits increase over the holidays and primary care providers tend to be less available. Your consultant can help prepare you for what to expect, so you know what you’re walking into.
