In its infancy, locum tenens was temporary staffing for primary care physicians in small, rural communities. As locum tenens evolved, hospitals, solo practices, single/multispecialty groups, HMOs, and community health centers have come to use locum tenens physicians for their temporary staffing needs. Just as the scope of facilities utilizing locums changed, the physician specialties in demand also changed.
In the 1990s when managed care was at its peak, primary care locum assignments were the most requested. By 2001, demand shifted to general surgery, psychiatry, anesthesiology, radiology, emergency medicine and other diagnostic specialists. Ironically, if we take a look at the last few years, we find the most requested specialties are once again family practice, internal medicine and hospitalists.
The type of physicians who are interested in providing locum tenens coverage has also changed over time. Years ago, most locum tenens physicians were retired physicians who missed the challenge of medicine and the gratification of providing quality medical care to patients. Today, locum tenens physicians range from just graduated residents who haven't made a decision on the type and location of permanent position, to retired physicians and many other physicians in between.
New physicians with spare time while they are building their practice, often accept locum assignments. Additionally, temporary assignments are also attractive to physicians who have been in practice for a number of years and have 4–6 weeks or more of vacation time. By accepting an assignment, they are able to explore new areas of the country and earn a few weeks extra pay.
Today, locum tenens physicians are in all stages of their careers. Many find it a welcome break from dealing with administrative headaches of running a practice because locum tenens allows the physician to focus 100% on patient care and not worry about insurance and billing problems, support staff, or malpractice insurance. The New England Journal of Medicine recently stated more than a third of the U.S. physicians worked locum tenens in 2008.
Staffing firms are anticipating an increase in locum tenens requests. With a recessionary economy, many hospitals and practices are reluctant to hire new physicians. However, illness, CME, vacations, sabbaticals, and retirements continue to affect their ability to provide services to their patient base. If you are experiencing a physician shortage and are interested in locum tenens coverage, please contact us.
