Locum Tenens 360

The practice of locum tenens (one who temporarily fills in for another) is readily accepted in countries such as Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The working of physicians on a temporary or part-time basis in the United States still has hurdles to overcome.Physicians have always helped out one another. If a doctor is going on vacation, he or she has spoken with a colleague to fill-in. Some would say that the institutionalization of locum tenens in the United States is when questions about the practice started to arise. But we ask, why? Why has the addition of organizations to the process made it questionable in some minds?

Introducing organizations to the locum tenens process has in fact made the process easier and safer. Organizations have access to CVs of physicians from across the country. Thus, a facility looking for help is not limited to those physicians who live in the local community. Also, all reputable locum tenens companies have a thorough licensing and credentialing process to ensure the physicians who work with them are of the highest caliber.

According to a recent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com), it is common practice for healthcare facilities to plan on using locum tenens (travelers) for their nurse staffing at a rate of approximately 5% of overall nursing staff. Apparently, these facilities realize that they are not going to have the nurse staffing they need without the added support of excellent locum tenens / traveling Nursing Jobs. Why hasn’t this approach and ease of use carried over into the physician locum tenens field?

The integration of locum tenens firms into the process of physicians filling in for one another has benefited both the physicians, and the groups and organizations for which they work. Physicians have better access to a multitude of locations in which to work. They have someone else arrange the travel, the hospital privileges, and the licensing. It benefits the organization in that they have more excellent physicians from which to choose.