A physician's guide to managing locum tenens work and a full-time career

As a practicing physician and a LocumTenens.com ambassador, I’ve experienced firsthand how locums work can complement, rather than compete with, a full-time role. More than just extra shifts, the two together allow clinicians to gain professional growth, personal fulfillment and deeper insights into their relationship to practicing medicine.

Why I chose to add locums work

Like so many others, I began my career as a clinician driven by purpose. According to LocumTenens.com’s recent report, Is Medicine Still a Calling? Exploring Physician Attitudes About Purpose in Medicine, 90% of clinicians said medicine was a calling when they first started out, but over half say that feeling has diminished over time.

For me, locums work was a way to rediscover that calling. As an ABEM-boarded emergency medicine doctor, locums allowed me to practice medicine in new environments, work amongst different teams and gain better insight into how care is delivered across diverse communities and facilities. Whether it’s in a rural emergency room or a crowded hospital, each shift brings something new.

Plan ahead, protect your schedule

When you’re working full-time, time management isn’t optional — it's essential. Working with your full-time scheduler is crucial to ensure your hours are accurate and organized. I recommend being as up front with them as possible, as you will need to block open days to travel.

The benefits of both locums and full-time

Personally, I’ve found that my critical skills have sharpened after practicing in both roles. After working in various types of health systems, you learn how to communicate more effectively within the system to achieve the best results, including understanding the crucial conversations that need to happen to benefit your patients. Additionally, doing a couple of shifts away from your full-time site each month helps address the monotony of the career.

Successfully balancing the two roles

When working in both locums and permanent positions, it's crucial for you to be your own biggest advocate. There’s plenty of work out there, but understanding your schedule and bandwidth, as well as knowing how many hours you want to work per month, is necessary to avoid burnout. Personally, 160-170 hours a month is the sweet spot, which translates to around 120 hours a month full-time and 36-48 hours travel. When I exceed 180 hours a month, fatigue begins to set in.

Sites usually hire locums because they’re quite short-staffed, so hours are plentiful. However, one has to learn when picking up that extra shift is a good idea and when less is more.

Flexibility and locums work

To me, flexibility in locums means that if you want to save up for that vacation or other big-ticket item, you can pick up extra shifts at market rate to do so. It also means that it’s not the end of the world if you decide to take a few weeks off. It’s helped me achieve real work-life balance by allowing me to spend time with my family, relax and enjoy my own time.

My advice to those thinking of trying locums tenens

Talk to the people who do it and make it work. Locums takes many forms, and LocumTenens.com is really committed to being flexible and making something work for your life and goals. Keep in mind the work is still challenging. While some sites may be organized, well-oiled machines, others are hectic to say the least. Ensure this aligns with your life and career goals, evaluate all your options and communicate exactly what you're looking for. The dual career path may be challenging to establish at first, but it is very rewarding to jump into.