At Hayes Locums, we rely on relationships, not algorithms, to create matches where both providers and hospitals can thrive.

We sat down with some of our consultants, Tyler Anghel, Gia Genoese, and Jo-Lonn Dunbar to hear more about how they approach matching their physicians and advanced practice providers with locum tenens jobs. Here’s what we learned about how consultants build relationships with their providers, find the right matches for them, and support them throughout the process.

Asking Good Questions + Listening 

The first step of finding a good match is to ask the right questions. “We ask the questions that help us get to know our providers’ real needs and dig deep into their career goals,” says Tyler. “That information helps us find the placements that will be best for them.”

Some of the questions your consultant might ask include:

  • Clinical Experience. The first and most important goal is to make sure that we find a good clinical match between a physician or advanced practice provider’s experience, and the facility’s needs.
  • Travel Preferences. Most locums positions involve travel, so getting an understanding of where a provider is willing to go, and what their preferences are, helps us narrow in on the right facilities to approach.
  • Financial Goals. Knowing your financial goals––whether that’s finding a position that will allow you to make a similar income while working fewer hours, or supplementing your income with higher-paying temporary assignments––will help us narrow down what positions are most likely to help you meet those goals. 
  • Your Family Situation. If you have family obligations that mean you can’t travel for long-term assignments or can only practice a couple weeks out of the month, we can factor that into our search.
  • Your Other Work Responsibilities. While some physicians and advanced practice providers do locums full time, others balance locums with their full-time job. We can look for short-term assignments that fit within your work schedule.

“We provide a listening ear to our providers so we can advocate for them with our facilities,” says Gia Genoese. “Getting a better understanding of why they wanted to practice medicine, and why they decided to try locums, helps us get to know them better. That not only makes it easier for us to find the right position for them—it also helps us build long-term partnerships. Many of my physicians have become so much more than just colleagues or physicians that I work alongside, they’ve become genuine friends. That’s my favorite aspect of working here at Hayes Locums, is being able to build those connections.”

Providing Specialty-Specific Expertise to Find the Right Clinical Matches

All of our consultants are comprehensively trained within a specific medical specialty, so they have the knowledge base to understand the clinical details and procedures of their specialty. That makes them well-equipped to find positions that are the right clinical fit for you.

“If the physician isn’t happy with what he’s doing clinically, then the hospital isn’t going to be happy,” said Jo-Lonn Dunbar. “The most important thing you can do as a consultant is be able to explain what the practice needs clinically, and match those needs with a physician’s skills and experience. Finding an assignment where the physician is doing the work that they want to do and that the facility needs–– that’s how you create a match made in heaven, and a lasting partnership.”

That expertise can also pay off in other ways: consultants tend to have an insider perspective on the trends happening in your specialty, and the relationships they’ve built throughout that medical specialty means that they are often some of the first to hear about potential positions that may be opening up.

Leading With Your Priorities, Not Our Own

At Hayes Locums, we focus on relationships, not of the bottom line. That means our consultants are guided by your priorities at every step to find the right assignment for you––no matter how long it takes.

Part of that approach is making sure we take the time to get to know our physicians and advanced practice providers, so we have a full understanding of their preferences and priorities.

“My approach with matching my physicians with assignments is just really getting to know what their needs are, whether that be clinical or financial or just wanting to travel and earn an income,” says Tyler Anghel. “Some physicians might be starting to think about retirement, and want a better work-life balance. For others, they want to have the freedom of making their own schedule. We’re there to help physicians achieve their career goals, no matter what those look like.”

The good news is that, because there are plenty of locums opportunities available your consultant can often find positions to fit almost any priority.

“When we find a really good physician, we’re usually able to match them with a hospital that needs that service at that time,” says Jo-Lonn Dunbar.

The importance of honesty and building trust

When it comes to making the right matches between providers and facilities, honesty is the best policy. Our consultants place a high priority on being transparent and communicative with their physicians and advanced practice providers, so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

“Being transparent is so important when it comes to building trust,” says Gia Genoese. “ Locums is an amazing opportunity, but it isn’t always going to be picture perfect. Some of these facilities are in rural areas with fewer resources, and it’s important to be upfront about that rather than creating an imaginary picture.”

Building that trust also means that physicians and advanced practice providers can go into their assignments knowing that they have a trusted partner alongside them, in case anything comes up. 

“When someone is working on a locums assignment, we talk to them every day,” says Gia Genoese. “Building a relationship where they are comfortable being fully transparent can make a night and day difference in making sure they have a good experience.”

At Hayes Locums, our consultants are proud to partner with physicians and advanced practice providers to provide care across the country. The priority we place on relationship-building is a huge part of why our consultants love what they do.

“For a physician to trust us with their career is a huge thing that we don’t take for granted,” says Tyler Anghel. “I find it rewarding to be able to change somebody’s life. And that’s what we’re doing: whether that be the patients that that are able to access care because of one of our physicians, the hospital who is able to avoid closure because they have coverage, or a physician or advanced practice provider being able to better their careers: we get to change people’s lives, and that’s something we take a lot of pride in.”