Both hospitalists and healthcare organizations are benefitting from the flexibility provided by locum tenens employment.  Salaried hospitalists who often work a seven-day-on/seven-day-off schedule are working as locum tenens on some of that free time in order to generate extra income.  At the same time, healthcare employers can bring in experienced physicians as needed to fill gaps in their regular staffing patterns.

As a national leader in healthcare staffing, All Medical Personnel connects locum tenens hospitalists and other physicians with available positions in their local and regional markets, or farther afield if desired.  The benefits of temporary assignments as locum tenens include schedule flexibility, exposure to different hospital and physician practice settings, and ability to expand clinical skills through exposure to more varied patient populations.

A recent survey of hospitalists conducted for Today’s Hospitalist magazine and Locum Leaders, found that one in ten hospitalists has worked as locum tenens, usually in addition to full-time employment, in the past 12 months.  More than 80 percent of respondents said they were employed full-time, 11 percent were self-employed and 7 percent were employed part-time and also working as locum tenens.

The survey noted that hospitalists are typically younger than other medical specialists, and more likely to carry large student debts, making the prospect of locum tenens employment particularly appealing to them.  If you are interested in discussing locum tenens employment options, we invited you to contact All Medical Personnel.

More and more, healthcare facilities are utilizing a Hospitalist program to assist their physicians with inpatient work.  It has been said that Hospitalist medicine is the “I POD” of the medical industry.  Specialty ranks are growing from 2,000 to 15, 000 in the past few years.  Most of these providers are in their 20’s and 30’s and are filling the gap between outpatient and inpatient care for Primary Care physicians.  More than 60% of hospitals across the United States currently have some sort of Hospitalist program in place. The beauty of utilizing a locum tenens provider for either starting or expanding in this physician specialty lies simply based on the uncertainty of supply and demand.  Because of the often unpredictable number of ER visits and admissions each year, locum tenens Hospitalists can be utilized either on an as needed basis or to test drive the market and how it might assist community physicians and the bottom line of the Hospital.  This is especially important as it will pertain to the new health care reform laws.  It is likely that emergency rooms will be experiencing an almost immediate effect of increased visits.  This is because many people will believe they are automatically insured and because physicians in the community will be sending patients directly to the ED rather than the office.  With a vast primary care physician shortage already occurring, it will be vital for healthcare facilities to be prepared to handle increased demands in regards to admissions with an appropriately staffed Hospitalist program. Locum Tenens Hospitalists will be an integral part of the solution offering temporary coverage while the permanent recruitment of these providers rises, and flexible coverage as needed until administrators can get a handle on what the weeks, months, and years ahead might look like with health care reform. *