The other day I started thinking about articles that would highlight how important it is for physicians to become aware of the option of locum tenens. Once I got started, I realized there were more reasons than I had realized!
These are the articles I've written so far:
1. Locum tenens for neurologists
As a neurologist, I've worked locum tenens on and off since 1982 in at least 5 states. Locums has helped me write books, travel, pay the bills, and find the perfect permanent job. Neurologists tend to be a pretty traditional bunch and many may not be aware of locum tenens.
2. Locum tenens: A physician's secret weapon against burnout.
You can't go far on the internet without tripping over an article on physician burnout. It's a sorry state of affairs when highly motivated, hard working people suffer miserably at a profession that requires so much self-sacrifice. Physicians need to know that locums provides a viable alternative. It worked for me!
3. The locum tenens paradox
The practice of locum tenens focuses on temporary positions and may seem antithetical to traditional full-time employment. But working a number of locum tenens assignments exposed me to a variety of employment models and steered me to the perfect full-time job, which I have right now! If I hadn't worked locum tenens, I never would have found this terrific clinical position. That's the locum tenens paradox.
4. CME tips for locum tenens physicians
State license boards require a certain number of continuing medical education (CME) credits in order to renew your license. It's a huge business, with physicians taking more than 1 million CME hours/year. Unfortunately, state CME requirements may differ from one state to another, complicating the life of the locum tenens physician who holds several state licenses. On the face of it, it doesn't seem like a big problem. In reality, keeping up with as many as 10 state licenses, with all the state-specific CME requirements, turns out to be a big bookkeeping job! This article articulates the problem and advises how to manage it.
I've got an idea for another article as well. I'm going to mull it over and see what happens!