How Working Locum Tenens Can Provide Job Security

Working Locum Tenens Can Provide Job Security

Healthcare industry trends have been rapidly shifting and evolving since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so are physicians’ and advanced practitioners’ perspectives when it comes to the model of employment they choose to pursue. According to LocumTenens.com’s 2021 U.S. Clinician and Employment Trends Report, 41% of physician and advanced practitioner respondents are planning on making a job change within the next year.

While many of these physicians and advanced practitioners are planning on making a job change due to burnout caused or exacerbated by the pandemic, many are turning to a full-time locum tenens model of employment for a different reason: job security.

A 2020 LocumTenens.com survey found 24% of physician and advanced practitioner respondents were professionally affected by furloughs or layoffs at some point due to the pandemic. The 2021 U.S. Clinician and Employment Trends Report sought to follow up and better understand whether and where clinicians who were furloughed or laid off are working today. The follow-up survey found approximately half were either rehired by the same facility or found a new employer, but 14% are still out of work, and 28% have now chosen to work locum tenens full time.

Some clinicians are under the impression temporary locum tenens assignments won’t provide job security, but most who try locum tenens work find that isn’t the case for a variety of reasons.

When you work locum tenens through an agency like LocumTenens.com, you have a dedicated team of recruiters working to find you the perfect assignment.

Although locum tenens assignments are temporary, most physicians and advanced practitioners find them to be a better fit than permanent employment at a healthcare facility. LocumTenens.com recruiters serve as clinician advocates. That means their goal is to find you an assignment with scheduling as flexible as you need it to be, wherever you need it to be. Should an issue arise while you’re on assignment, LocumTenens.com associates are there to work on your behalf to ensure any issues are resolved as quickly as possible. LocumTenens.com also has dedicated, in-house teams of licensing, credentialing and customer care experts who handle the complicated and tedious intricacies of getting you to your assignment and ensure you’re fully prepared.

The healthcare industry is constantly in flux, which means there are always a wide variety of locum tenens assignments available.

Healthcare facilities rely on locum tenens physicians and advanced practitioners to ensure they’re fully staffed to meet patient demand. Due to the pandemic, many patients initially put off preventive care for fear of catching the virus or because their elective appointments and procedures were canceled or postponed to avoid overwhelming facilities. Many facilities are still catching up on a backlog of delayed appointments and procedures while accommodating COVID patients and ensuring their full-time, permanent staff have the support they need so they don’t succumb to burnout. This means locum tenens clinicians are always in demand.

Locum tenens clinicians typically receive higher compensation and increased financial security.

According to the 2021 U.S. Clinician and Employment Trends Report, an overwhelming 70% of clinicians shared they would consider a locum tenens model of employment, with 63% reporting they would consider locum tenens work to make more money. While the majority of clinicians’ salaries have stayed the same throughout the pandemic, only 7% reported an increase in pay, with 26% reporting a decrease in pay. Of those who reported an increase in pay, many attributed it to working locum tenens assignments to supplement lost income at their facility of permanent employment. Increased compensation coupled with the knowledge they’ll always be in demand provides the majority of locum tenens clinicians with a greater sense of security.