If you’re new to locum tenens, it’s natural to have some uncertainty about getting started. We’ve gathered insights from locum physicians and advanced practice providers, across different specialties and professional seasons, to get their practical advice on building a successful locums career.
Whether you’re considering locums for the first time or looking to expand your existing locums schedule, these perspectives offer a lens into the realities of locums practice: what works, what doesn’t, and what makes the difference between a good locums experience and a great one.
What Do You Enjoy Most About Locums?
“With locums, you don’t have to deal with any of those administrative duties that are time-consuming. You don’t have to deal with reimbursement cuts from Medicare or insurance companies, you don’t deal with staffing, overhead, or running an office or surgery center. I don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. I just go where I’m told and do the work, and then I’m happy to come home.” –Dr. Mark Kocab, Gastroenterologist
“The level of appreciation and professional cooperation I’ve felt from my locums work is outstanding. I can’t emphasize enough that locums is the perfect remedy for physician burnout. You can still be a doctor, but you’re not undergoing stresses that we were never trained to deal with. You can actually enjoy the practice of medicine.” –Dr. Peter Zonakis, Otolaryngology
“For the first time since graduation, I felt the value of the physical exam and my stethoscope. It helped me rediscover the art of the physical examination, which is a dying art. The people who trained me and are retired now always reinforced the need for it, and I was always thinking, Why, I’ll just order an echo? But in South Dakota, I didn’t have an echo, so I had to rely on the physical exam. I caught a critical aortic stenosis just by using my ears. That’s not something I knew I could do until I had the opportunity.” – Dr. Marc Atzenhoefer, Cardiologist
What Soft Skills Matter Most for Success in Locums?
“When you walk into a facility as a locums provider, patients count on you. You’ve got to be able to understand and listen. You need to be adaptable and capable of reading the room.
The facility I interviewed with needed someone to come in and hit the ground running. They get you a computer, they get you access to the medications, and then they walk away, and you’re in charge. You need to be able to do that.” — Rebecca Van Leeuwan, CRNA
“Be open-minded and adaptable. If those aren’t traits that you feel confident in, and you want to challenge yourself to grow in those areas, locums is a fantastic modality for doing that. Locums gives you the opportunity to grow your perspective.” — Dr. Marc Atzenhoefer, Cardiologist
“They always say that every physician has to have the three A’s: aptitude, availability, and affability. That’s true of locums as well.
Neurosurgery.You have to have high aptitude—if you’re not good at what you do, it doesn’t matter how nice you are; no one wants the very pleasant klutz to come in who’s going to hurt patients. You must have high availability, and make sure that the hospital can reach you. And then you have to have a high affability quotient. You have to make sure that you’ve made good connections with the [medical care team]. You can’t walk in there and start demanding things from the OR just because you’re a neurosurgeon. To really succeed in locums, you have to be an agreeable person.” — Dr. Howard Levene, Neurosurgery
What Practical Steps Set You Up For Success in Locums?
“Save everything when you’re credentialing, because you’re going to be asked for those documents down the road if you go to a different hospital. It’s a good idea to try to keep everything all in one place, so that when you get asked for them again, it’s easy to access and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” — Anthony Riffel, PA
“Pick your locums company wisely. Because there are a lot of locums companies out there, and it’s important to find the right one. Hayes has become my go-to, because frankly I think [they] are the best.” –Dr. Norman Hetzler, Cardiothoracic Surgeon
“One of the things I learned was to always list the hotel room number as my backup phone number. As much as we love our phones and our computers, sometimes they do glitchy things for no reason. That’s no big deal if you’re an accountant, but it’s a real big deal if you’re on call for trauma.” –Dr. Howard Levene, Neurosurgery
How Can Locums Work Fit Into Your Personal Life?
“First and foremost, I had to make sure that it was okay for our family, because it did require me being away for a week at a time, or days at a time. But even though I’m away sometimes, when I’m here, I’m here. When I was practicing every day, I was a lot busier, getting home late and leaving home early. But now, I can be here when my daughter comes home from school, and be there to drop her off at the bus stop and help her with math and all these other things that I wasn’t able to do on a day-to-day basis before locums.” –Dr. Fenwa Millhouse, Urologist
“If you want flexibility in the amount of time that you work, the destinations where you work, and you either don’t have a young family, or your family is willing to travel with you, I would consider locums. My kids are grown now, [so we were able to travel], and my wife has enjoyed spending some time at the destinations I’ve gotten to work in.” –Dr. William McCord, Rheumatologist
“Locums felt very off the table for me at first, because who wants to leave their family and be the ‘bad mom’ who has to travel? But locums has been the exact opposite of what I expected it to be. So I would specifically encourage moms to look into locums work and not be put off by the travel, because I think the vast majority of them would be surprised by how that separation between your work-life balance can make both work and life so much better.
When I had a traditional job, I felt like I was only half a doctor and half a mom. When I was home, I was always thinking about my patients, and when I was at work, I was thinking about what to make for dinner. With locums, not only do I get more days at home with my kids, the days I’m home, I don’t have to worry about work at all. I love being able to be 100% doctor and 100% mom.” –Dr. Erica Tauck, Neurologist
“The biggest message for women considering surgery as a career is that although there will be sacrifices, you don’t have to sacrifice the dream of being both a surgeon and a mother. It demands strong organizational skills and adaptability, but it’s entirely doable, and it’s increasingly more common.” –Dr. Mary Arbuthnot, Pediatric Surgeon
“Just try it and see if it’s a fit. If you’re looking for more autonomy and freedom, or just trying to find out what position might be a good fit without a long-term commitment, locums is a fantastic way to explore those things and find something that will fit into your life.” –Dr. Erica Larson, Psychiatrist
“Locums gave me more time to pursue and cultivate other passions, [in addition to medicine]. I’ve always been passionate about writing and literature, and now I’m able to do that in addition to practicing medicine. I still consider pediatrics my first love, but now I have all these other ways that I’m able to serve and to be creative. It certainly is allowing me to live the life that I want to live.”–Dr. Oneica Poole, Locums Pediatrician
Whether you’re exploring locums for the first time or already working assignments, success in locums is all about finding what works for your personal and professional goals. These insights from experienced providers represent what’s possible when you are matched with the right locum tenens job. If you’re ready to explore what opportunities are available in your specialty, we’re here to help you every step of the way.
