A locum tenens hospitalist temporarily fills staffing needs at hospitals, covering gaps due to vacations, medical leaves, patient surges, or hiring difficulties. Rather than being a permanent hospital employee, locum tenens hospitalists accept short-term assignments ranging from a few shifts to several months. Responsibilities include:
- Admitting patients
- Managing inpatient care
- Overseeing treatments
- Coordinating patient discharges
The locum tenens model has significantly grown, with most U.S. hospitals utilizing these temporary physicians to ensure continuous patient care. Factors like physician shortages and demand for staffing flexibility have solidified the role of locum tenens hospitalists in modern healthcare.
For physicians, locum tenens offers the chance to practice hospital medicine without long-term employment commitments, providing either full-time career options or supplemental income opportunities. Before starting, carefully weighing the advantages and challenges of locum tenens hospitalist work is essential.
Benefits of Working as a Locum Tenens Hospitalist
Financial Benefits
Locum tenens hospitalists typically earn significantly higher hourly rates compared to permanently employed physicians. Common rates range from $150–$200 per hour, sometimes even higher in high-demand regions, allowing hospitalists to rapidly achieve financial goals like loan repayment or savings milestones.
Scheduling and Flexibility
One of the major draws of locum tenens work is complete control over scheduling. Hospitalists can:
- Choose specific work assignments based on personal preference.
- Take extended vacations or breaks without needing employer approval.
- Create a personalized schedule that fits individual lifestyle and family commitments.
Professional Growth and Diverse Experiences
Locum tenens work provides diverse clinical experiences by exposing hospitalists to various healthcare settings, patient populations, EMR systems, and hospital protocols. This variety:
- Enhances adaptability and clinical skill sets.
- Allows physicians to test different hospital environments.
- Helps maintain professional engagement through continually fresh experiences.
Reduced Administrative Responsibilities
Locum tenens hospitalists typically focus exclusively on patient care without mandatory participation in administrative tasks or hospital politics. This allows physicians to:
- Concentrate fully on patient treatment and care delivery.
- Minimize burnout from administrative duties.
- Avoid involvement in internal hospital politics and bureaucracy.
Travel and Location Flexibility
Hospitalists can choose assignments that align with personal interests:
- Explore new cities and regions through assignments in various locations.
- Select assignments close to home to minimize travel and maintain family or personal commitments.
Improved Work-Life Balance and Burnout Relief
The flexibility of locum tenens roles greatly improves work-life balance by allowing physicians to tailor their workload:
- Ability to take breaks between assignments to recharge.
- Opportunity to manage work intensity, helping to alleviate burnout.
- Enhanced overall job satisfaction through greater autonomy.
Locum tenens hospitalist positions offer compelling professional and personal benefits, making this career option highly attractive to physicians seeking greater flexibility, better compensation, and improved work-life balance.
Challenges and Considerations
Despite numerous benefits, locum tenens hospitalist roles present some challenges:
Income Uncertainty
Income fluctuates depending on assignment availability. Physicians must budget and plan finances carefully to handle potential gaps between assignments.
Independent Contractor Status
Locum tenens hospitalists are independent contractors without traditional employer-sponsored benefits, requiring self-management of health insurance, retirement savings, and other benefits.
Tax and Business Management
As independent contractors, hospitalists handle their own taxes and business expenses, necessitating accurate record-keeping and quarterly estimated tax payments.
Licensing and Credentialing
Working in multiple states involves obtaining multiple medical licenses and hospital credentialing, which can be time-consuming. Wapiti Medical provides assistance to streamline these processes.
Frequent Transitions and Learning Curves
Each new assignment involves adapting quickly to different hospital systems and protocols, requiring flexibility and strong interpersonal skills.
Travel Demands
Travel can be demanding, impacting personal time and family life. Physicians must carefully manage travel frequency and location choices.
Limited Patient Continuity
Hospitalists typically experience limited long-term patient relationships due to the temporary nature of assignments.
Self-Motivation and Organization
Success as a locum tenens hospitalist requires proactive management of schedules, licenses, assignments, and finances.
With careful planning and agency support, these challenges can be effectively managed, allowing physicians to fully benefit from the flexibility and opportunities of locum tenens hospitalist roles.
Compensation Details for Locum Tenens Hospitalists
Locum tenens hospitalists often receive higher hourly or daily rates compared to permanent positions, partially compensating for the absence of employer-provided benefits. Key components include:
- Hourly/Daily Rates: Typically range from $100 to over $200 per hour, depending on location and demand.
- Per Diem and Overtime: Additional pay may be provided for overtime, night shifts, weekends, and holidays.
- Travel and Housing Expenses: Most locum contracts cover travel, housing, and sometimes food expenses.
- Malpractice Insurance: Typically included at no cost, covering assignment duration and providing necessary liability protection.
- Licensing and Credentialing Fees: Wapiti has a credentialing team who can assist you with the credentialing and licensing processes. Our professional staff can guide you every step of the way, even going so far as to help you apply for state licenses.
- Tax Advantages: Independent contractors can deduct business-related expenses and manage pre-tax retirement savings through options like SEP-IRAs or solo 401(k)s.
With proper financial management and agency support, locum tenens hospitalists can effectively navigate compensation structures and maximize earnings.
Lifestyle and Work-Life Balance for Locum Tenens Hospitalists
Achieving better lifestyle and work-life balance is a primary reason hospitalists choose locum tenens roles. Unlike traditional hospitalist schedules, locum tenens allows considerable flexibility and control. Here’s what that means for your daily life:
Flexible Scheduling and Personal Time
As a locum tenens hospitalist, you control your calendar and can tailor assignments around personal commitments or events. Examples include:
- Taking extended breaks for family events, vacations, or personal interests.
- Planning heavier workloads during certain periods and lighter schedules during others.
- Pursuing outside interests or goals, such as travel, education, or volunteer work.
This flexibility enables physicians to integrate work seamlessly with their personal priorities, improving overall quality of life.
Choosing Your Workload
Locum hospitalists decide how much and how intensely they work. This includes:
- Selecting assignments based on workload intensity.
- Avoiding roles known for exceptionally high volumes or stressful environments.
- Completing shifts without additional non-clinical responsibilities, allowing true downtime and relaxation after work.
Option to Maintain Local Ties
Despite perceptions, frequent travel isn’t mandatory. Locum tenens assignments can be close to home, allowing:
- Work at nearby hospitals within commuting distance.
- Regular returns home, maintaining family and community connections.
- Balancing the benefits of locums flexibility without extensive travel demands.
Alternatively, physicians interested in travel can accept distant assignments, but the key is having a choice to suit individual preferences.
Adapting to Cyclical Work Patterns
Locum tenens schedules often alternate periods of intensive work with extended breaks, enabling:
- Intense working periods, like consecutive weeks or months, to meet financial goals.
- Planned downtime for rest and recovery without PTO constraints.
- Achieving an optimal balance by assessing workloads annually rather than weekly or monthly.
Burnout Prevention and Renewed Satisfaction
Locum tenens roles can significantly mitigate physician burnout through:
- Reduced administrative burdens and a primary focus on patient care.
- Increased autonomy and control over scheduling and workload.
- Opportunities to plan sabbaticals or mental health breaks deliberately.
Credentialing, Licensing, and Logistics
Efficient navigation of credentialing, licensing, and logistics is critical for locum tenens hospitalists. Key areas include:
State Medical Licensing
- Multiple state licenses may be needed.
- Streamlined processes like the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) can simplify obtaining multiple licenses.
- Wapiti Medical can assist in helping you navigate licensing related fees.
Hospital Credentialing
- Each new assignment requires hospital credentialing, including verification of qualifications and privileges.
- Maintain updated documentation (CV, licenses, certifications) to expedite credentialing.
- Wapiti Medical can assist in handling credentialing paperwork.
Background Checks and Additional Requirements
- Expect routine background checks, drug screenings, vaccinations, and Medicare/Medicaid enrollments.
- Respond promptly to documentation requests to avoid assignment delays.
Scheduling Logistics
- Clarify shift schedules, on-call duties, and expectations upfront.
- Effective communication with staffing coordinators or agency representatives is essential.
Travel and Housing
- Travel and lodging are typically arranged or reimbursed by the staffing agency.
- Specify housing preferences or needs clearly to ensure comfort and convenience.
Malpractice Insurance and Contract Review
- Malpractice coverage is typically provided by the agency.
- Review all agreements for clear terms, termination clauses, and non-compete language.
With thorough preparation, organization, and support from reputable staffing agencies like Wapiti Medical, these logistical challenges become manageable, allowing hospitalists to fully benefit from the rewarding aspects of locum tenens roles.
Is a Locum Tenens Hospitalist Career Right for You?
Deciding if locum tenens work is the right choice depends on your individual goals and priorities. Consider these scenarios to determine if this flexible career suits you:
Physicians Seeking Flexibility: Locum tenens offers unparalleled control over your schedule, ideal for family commitments, travel, or personal pursuits.
Early-Career Physicians Exploring Options: Test various hospital environments and locations before committing long-term, gaining valuable insights into your preferred practice style.
Mid-Career Physicians Seeking Change: If you’re feeling burnt out or considering relocation, locum tenens can refresh your practice, providing a transition period to test new settings without immediate long-term commitment.
Late-Career or Semi-Retired Physicians: Enjoy part-time or seasonal clinical practice without the demands of full-time employment, maintaining professional engagement and income during semi-retirement.
Physicians Focused on Financial Goals: Accelerate debt repayment or savings through higher pay rates and flexible work intensity.
However, locum tenens may not be ideal if you:
- Prefer long-term patient relationships and consistent routines.
- Dislike travel or the logistics involved in managing credentials and licenses.
To ease logistical burdens, agencies like Wapiti Medical provide comprehensive support in credentialing, licensing, and travel arrangements.
Next Steps
If locum tenens aligns with your career vision, explore opportunities at Wapiti Medical Staffing.