Over 90% of healthcare facilities in the US rely on locum tenens to fill coverage gaps left by the physician shortage.
As facilities and healthcare systems are navigating staffing shortages and increasing demand, locums coverage helps keep essential service lines open across a wide range of specialties. Here are some of the top specialties that rely on locum physicians and APPs to ensure patients are able to access care.
Hematology/Oncology
Oncology is one of the highest-demand specialties for locums physicians. Case backlogs from the pandemic caused delays in patient care in many specialties, but oncology was hit particularly hard. In some areas of the U.S., patients are waiting up to six months to see an oncologist—which is especially concerning given how strongly early treatment can influence cancer survival rates.
That’s where locums comes in. Locums oncologists help expand access to care for patients while supporting oncology teams in communities experiencing significant backlogs.
The increase in stress and longer hours can contribute to burnout among physicians in permanent positions. To help manage rising patient volumes and support their medical teams, hospitals often rely on locum tenens physicians to provide additional coverage.
Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology is another specialty that was significantly impacted during the pandemic. Elective surgeries—including colonoscopies—were put on pause, and many gastroenterologists chose to retire early rather than weather the hiatus in their practice during the pandemic. Those delays have caused a significant backlog in patient care, which locums physicians are now helping to address.
“Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, every single hospital system in the country was looking for GIs,” said Grant Geisler, Senior Consultant at Hayes Locums. “We’re seeing demand for locums in very robust areas of the country that you wouldn’t typically associate with a need for locums. Major academic hospitals, private healthcare systems: they all need locums.”
For practiced gastroenterologists looking for more worklife balance, or early career physicians looking to try out different practice settings before committing to a permanent placement, locums is a great way to continue your practice while making a significant impact on communities that need care.
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology continues to be one of the highest demand specialties in locum tenens, as many facilities are still struggling to make a dent in their surgical backlogs from the pandemic. The demand for anesthesiology care has also opened up opportunities for advanced practice providers (APPs), with more and more facilities integrating CRNAs and CAAs into their practices.
“We’re seeing the care team model approach becoming more widely adopted,” says Vice President of Sales Teresa Thompson. “By taking on some of the caseloads that enable the anesthesiologist to focus on more complex cases, advanced practice providers have become a huge part of the solution to the shortages we’re seeing across the country.”
Locums anesthesiologists and CRNAs both play a significant part in helping hospitals address their surgical backlogs, and ensuring that underserved communities can access the care they need.
“If it weren’t for locums, underserved areas would not have enough help,” said Rebecca Van Leeuwen, Hayes Locums CRNA. “The providers who work at rural hospitals would burn out, and it would start to impact the quality of care. Without CRNAs looking out for rural America, it would be difficult for them to get access to good-quality anesthesia.”
Neurology
The neurologist shortage has led to considerable backlogs and longer wait times across the U.S. In some areas, it can take hospitals up to five years to recruit a neurologist. That’s why hospitals rely on locum tenens to cover gaps in care, and reduce wait times for patients who can’t afford to wait months to see a neurologist.
Unlike some specialties, locums neurology assignments tend to be longer-term—which means that locums neurologists often get to develop longstanding relationships with their patients.
“Even if a hospital does bring in a permanent physician, they often still retain the locums neurologist, because so many of them are still behind on wait times,” said Senior Consultant Tim Moses. “The longer you practice at a particular hospital, the more patients get to know you, and the more they depend on your treatment plans.”
Nurse Practitioners and Advanced Practice Providers
The reality of the physician shortage is that it can’t be fixed with only physicians. Nurse practitioners and other advanced practice providers play a crucial role in addressing the staffing shortage and the resulting delays in patient care.
As more and more states move toward clinical independence for NPs, locums opportunities have continued to grow. “While state laws do vary in terms of what an NP can and cannot do, the demand has not decreased based on the differences between states,” says VP of Sales Teresa Thompson. Healthcare facilities need nurse practitioners in every state, regardless of regulations—which means there is a great opportunity for NPs to make an impact.
Urology
Over 60% of counties in the US are going without a practicing urologist. In rural areas especially, patients are often waiting months for standard urology care. Locums physicians make it easier for those patients to access care, without having to travel hundreds of miles away from their homes.
“Locums is a great way to feel like you’re doing work that matters, because you get to practice in places that really need a urologist,” said Hayes Locums urologist Dr. Fenwa Milhouse. “Patients are so grateful to be taken care of, because so many of them have been on the waitlist for months and months.”
Rural hospitals also rely on urologists to sustain their service lines. Coverage gaps in urology services may jeopardize a hospital’s trauma certification, making locum physicians essential to keeping service lines open and ensuring continued care for the community.
Radiology
Like other specialties, radiology is facing both an increase in demand and a shortage of radiologists. But those factors are also exacerbated by the increase in radiologists who are opting for telework—which leaves hospitals struggling to find on-site radiologists.
Locums can help, by allowing hospitals to retain radiologists who want to work from home, while relying on locums radiologists for on-site coverage when it’s needed. And because locum tenens offers a more flexible schedule, it makes it easier to find physicians who are willing to work onsite.
If a hospital requires weekly coverage for several months, facilities can hire several rotating locums physician to practice for a week per month—giving hospitals the coverage they need, while still allowing radiologists the work-life balance they’re looking for.
Maternal Fetal Medicine
Access to Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists can make a huge difference in outcomes for patients with high-risk pregnancies. But even though anywhere from 30,000-50,000 women face high-risk pregnancies each year, in many areas of the U.S.—including the majority of tribal land reservations, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, border areas in Texas, Western Colorado, and Western New England—residents are having to drive anywhere from 3-6 hours to access care.
“More and more hospitals are having to close their labor and delivery units in rural communities because they can’t get ObGyn coverage,” Senior Consultant Justin Hiemer explains. “And when those hospitals close, patients aren’t able to get care within their own communities. Instead, they have to travel, in some cases hundreds of miles, just to access maternal care.”
Locums can make a huge difference in helping patients in underserved communities access subspecialty care like maternal fetal medicine. Instead of patients having to go without care while hospitals go through the hiring process, locums physicians can take assignments on a recurring basis to provide continuity of care for high-risk patients.
Vascular Surgery
According to a 2025 study, vascular surgery is currently ranked last among all surgical specialties when it comes to workforce adequacy. 83% of counties in the U.S. don’t have a practicing vascular surgeon—and with heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions on the rise, vascular surgeons are needed more than ever to ensure that patients aren’t waiting months or years to get the surgery they need.
Locum tenens is helping fill the gap, by sending vascular surgeons into communities who need surgical care. Locums also helps prevent burnout among full-time surgeons, by providing them additional support in tackling surgical backlog. It’s also a great opportunity for surgeons who are looking to expand their skillset, or explore a different practice setting.
“Locums was the perfect job immediately following my fellowship training in vascular surgery,” said one of our Hayes Locums vascular surgeons. “I was able to jump into a busy active practice, provide much needed service to a rural community, and hone my clinical skills.”
