Physician Career Information and Resource Center

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LocumTenens.com has put together a comprehensive physician career resource center that provides you with the latest industry news, information and surveys. Whether you are looking for a detailed salary report or current news articles pertaining to your specialty, you will find them here. Our physician career center is divided into separate sections that focus on each of our core specialties.

 

 

Exclusive Physician Articles

The 411 on Working Locum Tenens

So you’re thinking about taking a locum tenens opportunity, and undoubtedly you’ve got some questions. Below are some answers to commonly asked questions by locum tenens providers:

What in the world does “locum tenens” mean? Locum tenens is a Latin phrase that means “to hold the place of, to substitute for.” In layman’s terms, it means a temporary physician. To read more about the history of the locum tenens industry, click here.

Why should I consider working locum tenens? Physicians choose to accept locum tenens assignments for many different reasons. Many like the option of trying out different practice styles and geographic locations before making a permanent commitment. In fact, statistics show that a high percentage of residents are unhappy with their first practice setting, often because the style of practice is not what was expected or the administrative physician staffing agendas were not clearly defined.

Physicians in mid-career transition often see working locum tenens as an opportunity to try out different areas and bridge the gap on income while searching for the right permanent position.


Physicians Report Growing Dissatisfaction with "Business" of Medicine

In a decade when it seems the news media report a physician shortage in another U.S. community or medical specialty weekly, physicians report increasing frustration with practicing medicine in today’s healthcare marketplace.

Out of almost 2,400 physicians responding to a national survey conducted this summer by LocumTenens.com, only 3% said they were not frustrated by nonclinical aspects of their profession. The remaining respondents identified with a list of possible frustrations as follows:

Reimbursement issues – 29%

Administrative and business agendas interfere with clinical decisions – 22%

Medical liability issues – 19%

Lifestyle issues: Too much time at work – 15%

Federal regulations, policies, procedures – 8%

"Most physicians don’t go into medicine for the money," LocumTenens.com Senior Vice President Pamela McKemie said. "However, many don’t anticipate the business challenges of practicing medicine today, and they dislike that nonclinical concerns—like getting paid for services rendered or justifying treatment plans—take them away from their primary focus of caring for patients."

Provider Testimonlials

I realize that it does take a great deal of effort to satisfy both sides of the equation. Hospital and anesthesia groups always want things done in a hurry and the anesthesiologist wants to get things confirmed. It is a great deal of work for all of you to coordinate all of the information.
— Donald D. Hutchings, M.D.

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Residents

Residency Programs

Click here for ACGME program information for Physicians - including residency programs, faculty, resident work hours, and compensation stats.

Click here for FREIDA Online specialty training statistics - learn what percentage of physicians (by specialty) plan to pursue more training, practice with a group, in the military, or plan to be Academicians.

List of programs within a particular specialty for current academic year and those newly accredited programs with future effective dates (Year ending June 30th, 2006)
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Addressing the Rural Physician Shortage

The physician shortage is more acute in Rural America where recruiting firms like LocumTenens.com do at least 60% of their business. Consider these statistics from the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) and the federal Office of Rural Health Policy: Roughly 25 percent of the U.S. population lives in Rural America, but only 10 percent of U.S. physicians practice there. There are 2,157 Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA’s) in rural and frontier areas of all states and US territories compared to 910 in urban areas.

State-Sponsored Solutions

Well aware of these types of situations and statistics long before they began getting rather extensive play in the news media, some state-sponsored, healthcare-focused organizations have begun taking action: —To further improve the number of physicians practicing in rural Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program is preparing to expand their delivery of rural education programs to include the Oregon Rural Scholars Program. The program will have 3 core elements:

  1. Identify, recruit, admit and provide financial assistance to medical school applicants who demonstrate interest in and aptitude for rural practice.
  2. Provide an enriched rural-centered curriculum.
  3. Provide retention support and professional development for practicing rural physicians.

Outcomes data from similar rural programs in the United States strongly suggest that medical school applicants provided with this type of program are far more likely to enter rural practice and to remain in practice in rural areas.

—In Georgia, the population has increased by 25% during the past decade (to 9 million), and its 65-year-old-plus population is expected to expand by at least 1.1 million through 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. After a recent report issued by the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce indicated that the state ranked 34th out of 46 states in the number of medical school graduates per capita, the oldest and largest of the state’s medical schools (Medical College of Georgia and Emory University School of Medicine) increased enrollment for the first time in some 30 years--by about 10% in an effort to follow Association of American Medical Colleges recommendations to increase enrollments over the next decade. The college is in discussions with the University of Georgia to expand the program using an old naval base on its Athens campus.

Federal Fixes

Now more federal legislators are starting to take notice, too: U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has introduced legislation to give $1,000 tax credits to physicians for each month they work in a frontier area or treat a high percentage of patients from such areas. At deadline, Murkowski was scheduled to serve as chairwoman for a February 20 field hearing of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on the proposal. Introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) on February 14, the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2007 proposes to expand the number of Medicare-supported physician residency training positions in resident physician shortage states' teaching hospitals. A state is considered to have a shortage of resident physicians if its ratio of resident physicians per 100,000 people is below the national median level. Nevada currently has 199 physicians in training, and would be eligible for an additional 93 positions under the bill. As a result of this legislation, teaching hospitals in approximately 24 states would be eligible for increases in their resident caps. Concerned about a looming doctor shortage in Florida, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) recently co-sponsored Reid’s bill, said that if the legislation passes, Florida hospitals would gain more than 347 new physician training positions, the most in the nation. “As our population grows and ages, we need to make sure we have enough doctors to meet their needs,” he said, noting that physicians often choose to reside in areas where they train.

-- Billie Wickstrom

Do not see your specialty? Then visit our general physician career resource center.

LocumTenens.com also offers an exclusive resource center that guides you through the process of doing locums work. You can find information about working with a physician recruiter, credentialing, malpractice insurance and much more. Visit our locum tenens resource center now.

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