The Locum Life: A Physician’s Guide to Locum Tenens became available on Audible.com in November 2020. I just learned that the 100th copy just sold! Hooray!
Since I worked my first locum tenens job in 1982, locums has enhanced my career with four life-changing benefits.
1. After completing an internship in internal medicine in 1982, I still wasn’t sure about my direction in medicine. I took a “year off” to write a book and work in the emergency room. During those challenging ER shifts, I discovered that neurology patients fascinated me. This epiphany led to a second residency in neurology, an epilepsy fellowship, and a career as a clinical neurologist.
2. After eight years of clinical practice, I needed inspiration. Working locum tenens allowed me to lift my nose from the grindstone and lead medical missions to Southeast Asia (where my prior training as an internist came in handy as well!)
3. As temporary faculty at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN, and later at the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, I discovered that working with residents in a county hospital (just like I remembered as a resident) was my preferred clinical environment. This insight led to my current position as an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN.
4. My experience as a locum tenens physician taught me not only what I loved but what I was worth. I was able to negotiate a more appropriate compensation package for my permanent job because of my locums experience, and because I knew I had locums to fall back on if they didn’t make me an offer I couldn’t refuse!
My locum tenens experience led me to write “The Locum Life: A Physician’s Guide to Locum Tenens,” published in December 2018. The first full-length manual for physicians on locum tenens, it has garnered a 4.5-star rating and many excellent reviews. To date, over 1,000 print copies have sold. It’s gratifying that so many physicians have taken advantage of this book to facilitate their locum tenens experiences.
When a couple of people asked me whether they could listen to an audiobook version of “The Locum Life,” I explored how to make that happen. It took a home studio, audio editing software (Audacity), eight boxes of sound-absorbing foam, a multitude of YouTube “how-to” videos, and several months of studio time to gain my recording chops. It was no small achievement when my 6 hours and 45 minutes of narration passed the stringent ACX requirements for publication on Audible.com.
Just about everything I know about locums is in my book. However, if you have questions about locums, are searching for an agent, or looking for a great locums tax accountant, please contact me through my website. I’ll do my best to help, free of charge.
My website also holds a collection of free videos-one for each chapter of “The Locum Life.”
For more about locum tenens and a variety of interesting topics, please check out my podcast, “The Art of Medicine with Dr. Andrew Wilner.” It publishes twice a month. Guests include physician-authors, financial advisors, wellness experts, and, of course, locum tenens experts. Each episode lasts about 20 minutes. Available on YouTube and your favorite podcast player.
Thanks for reading (and listening)!
For more news about locum tenens, please sign up at: www.andrewwilner.com.
