Jonny Hale

Tips for Self-care Through Locum Tenens

Did you know that, since 1949, May has been designated Mental Health Awareness Month? While burnout rates among clinicians remain at historic highs, there’s a growing emphasis on physicians and advanced practice providers prioritizing their mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being while attending to busy healthcare careers. What does that look like to you? Self-care initiatives come in many forms and address various elements that contribute to a person’s general well-being. Below is a list of eight common coping mechanisms to which we’ve added the benefits of locum tenens. See how each strategy can be easily applied to and enhanced by the career alternative.

1. Practice gratitude
   Locum tenens professionals can experience this phenomenon by appreciating what assignments offer, and what they don’t entail. Numerous surveys show that physicians are happier in their careers when the majority of their focus is directed toward treating people instead of non-clinical tasks. Locum tenens jobs grant providers larger latitude to spend time on patient care, making an impact on people and their families. Locums professionals also express gratitude for the schedule flexibility that creates pockets of time to devote attention to family and friends without having to also fit in work commitments.

2. Embrace change
   Practicing in a variety of settings and locations for locum tenens contracts is the epitome of embracing change. A key benefit is you don’t have to do it on your own. All Star Healthcare Solutions stands with you throughout the entire journey to assist as needed, all part of our “Red Carpet” Service of going above and beyond.

3. Adopt a growth mindset
   Accepting locum tenens assignments in a variety of clinical settings and communities, serving unique patient populations, means you’ve chosen to welcome new experiences on a regular basis. From observing other providers to training on equipment to collecting interesting tidbits about your temporary hometown, locums presents situations that help you grow professionally and personally.

4. Stay present in the moment
   A locum tenens practice is particularly conducive to this self-care tip. For example, while on duty, you’re able to deliver quality care minus managing a slew of administrative responsibilities. Off duty, you are likely to have more “me time” wherein you can shut out distractions and indulge in activities that help revitalize your mind and spirit.

5. Nurture curiosity
   While on assignment, use downtime to explore topics on your reading list, sign up for online classes, or take up new hobbies (see our blog, “6 Hobbies to Consider While on Locum Tenens Assignments”).

6. Foster positive relationships
   Turns out locum tenens is a welcoming avenue toward forging and reaffirming connections. We often hear about the friendships physicians and advanced practice providers make on assignments and how they endure long afterwards. More than that, individuals can build schedules around family needs and commitments. Or use assignments to travel closer to loved ones, such as choosing contracts near adult children or extended family members.

7. Engage in physical activity
   It’s always a good idea to release endorphins through physical activity as a method to manage daily stressors. Living in another town for a locums job can be an inspiration to get moving more. Take advantage of the natural surroundings or a community’s sports and recreation venues to engage in fun pastimes. Use the occasion to try something new, like line dancing, pickleball, or snorkeling, or whatever else piques your interest to get out and about.

8. Visualize goals
   Feel like it’s time to take the next step in your career, but not entirely sure what that is or where it will land you? That’s the perfect time to try locum tenens. Temporary assignments enable you to test out possibilities. You get to know the facility, staff, patients, and community on an intimate level without signing on for long-term employment. The career alternative empowers you with real-time assessments of a workplace and city so you can make well-informed career and personal choices. Plus, your All Star consultant serves as a knowledgeable coach, matching assignments to your career criteria. What’s more, our Direct Hire Division can kick off a job search for a staff role if that’s your goal. As a full-service staffing agency, consultants in both of our divisions collaborate and coordinate to assist providers in meeting short- and long-term goals.

Whatever self-care strategies you decide work best for you, chances are there’s a way locum tenens can optimize the benefits. All Star Healthcare Solutions is here to help. Start your locum tenens journey today. Call us at 800-928-0229, or contact us online.

by Jonny Hale

All Star Matches Candidates to Your Workplace Culture

While clinical skills will always be the top priority when recruiting physicians and advanced practitioners to deliver high-caliber care to your patients, complementing your workplace culture is important, too. As your full-service staffing partner, All Star Healthcare Solutions reviews all factors when connecting providers with your organization.

The first step in our consultative approach is to get to know your hospital, outpatient clinic, private practice, or health system. The more we know about your workplace, the better we are able to identify candidates who will meld into and promote your organization’s personality. The following list contains examples of key characteristics that help us find individuals who meet both your locum tenens and direct-hire staffing needs.

• Facility type and size – This information offers more than just a set of numbers or classification. It paints a general picture of scope, services offered, size of staff, and patient volume, which is a great starting point to describe a workplace to potential new hires and locums professionals.

• Unit or practice pace – While acuity level sets the tone for any clinical setting, there are other details that will indicate if a provider’s practice style will be well suited to your workplace. For example, we may inquire about level of support staff and equipment on site. How many patients do providers typically see on shift? Is there call support for the unit? To that end, what are the requirements for call duty, including frequency and patient load? Having a realistic snapshot of the unit or practice where they will work benefits both you and candidates.

• Patient population – When describing your patients, share key demographics beyond the clinical. Knowing about regional and cultural influences as well as the community’s socioeconomic conditions, for example, offers a more comprehensive profile.

• Consults and mid-level support – In addition to explaining your facility’s access to specialists, explain the extent of nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and certified registered nurse anesthetist support. Or, are you looking for advanced practitioners to fill out your staffing roster? What responsibilities do they cover? Gathering this data helps our consultants inform potential locum tenens or direct-hire providers and empowers them to make informed career decisions. It also tells a more accurate, in-depth story about how your facility functions.

• Facility celebrations – Do units decorate for the holidays or organize potlucks for those working during special occasions? We want to hear about how your organization injects fun into the workplace so we can pass along all elements of your culture.

• Employee well-being – Internal initiatives are important to both locums and direct-hire candidates. They want to hear how employers are supporting staff with programs that emphasize schedule flexibility, employee education, and other benefits to better balance work and life commitments.

• Technology support – Technology also tells a tale about your workplace. We want to share information about your current software being utilized and any other technology so locums and direct-hire providers are aware of any learning curve ahead. Is there an online tutorial available? Have you installed an artificial intelligence tool? How are requests for IT support handled? Being upfront with this information empowers All Star consultants to prepare providers ahead of their start date so they can acclimate as quickly as possible.

• Reasons for staffing needs – For healthcare facilities of all sizes and types across the country, staffing remains a pressing issue, but the reasons can vary. Are you seeking locum tenens providers in anticipation of multiple requests for time off from staff due to summer or winter holidays? Do you have a clinician going out on planned, or unplanned, leave? Are you looking for new members because you’re expanding services or experiencing a wave of retirements? Knowing your facility’s unique staffing circumstances allows All Star’s consultants to devise specific solutions to meet your needs. It also helps candidates understand why they are needed at your facility and assists in developing expectations.

• Our signature “Red Carpet” Service – At All Star, going above and beyond isn’t an occasional benefit under special circumstances, it is our everyday standard. With every interaction, we make your needs, and those of providers, our top priority and that includes presenting candidates who fit both your clinical and cultural needs.

Make All Star Healthcare Solutions your staffing partner. Call us today at 800-928-0229, or contact us online.

by Jonny Hale

Busting the Top 10 Myths About a Career in Locum Tenens

Are you curious about the locum tenens career alternative? Have you heard tidbits about the pros and cons and would like more comprehensive information? You’ve come to the right source!

As part of our signature “Red Carpet” Service, All Star Healthcare Solutions is committed to being upfront and transparent with our processes in matching physicians and advanced practitioners with locum tenens opportunities. Here, we demystify some of the common myths associated with the career alternative so you have a full and clear picture of what to expect and how you could benefit from locum tenens.

1. MYTH: Locum tenens providers become employees of staffing companies.
Physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) who agree to locum tenens jobs on either a full-time or occasional basis are not employees of All Star Healthcare Solutions nor the hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare organizations seeking the services of supplemental staff. Rather, locum tenens providers function as independent contractors with the freedom to accept or decline assignments as they see fit. Providers are covered by All Star’s liability insurance throughout the duration of a locum tenens contract.

2. MYTH: A locum tenens practice is best suited for individuals transitioning into retirement.
Providers in all career stages accept locum tenens assignments, from those just out of residency to those who wish to keep their clinical skills sharp while enjoying the benefits of retirement.

3. MYTH: Only select specialties are requested for locum tenens jobs.
All Star Healthcare Solutions works with physicians across all medical specialties as well as NPs, PAs, and CRNAs. What’s more, our consultant teams focus on specialties, so the recruiter you connect with will understand the skills commonly requested within your field of practice. They know the terminology associated with your specialty. They are well-versed in what questions to ask facility administrators and managers. They become your experts, which results in highly qualified locum tenens jobs presented for your consideration.

4. MYTH: Locum tenens jobs are only available at small, rural hospitals.
Just as we work with all medical specialists, All Star partners with all types of healthcare organizations across the country. It’s true some contracts come from hospitals and clinics in smaller communities, but we also match providers to trauma centers in large metropolitan areas, multi-specialty private practice groups, and mid-size hospitals, surgery centers, and many other healthcare facilities in need of additional clinicians. Let your recruiter know which clinical setting you prefer.

5. MYTH: You can only moonlight with locum tenens.
One of the great things about locum tenens is that you decide when and how to incorporate the practice style into your schedule. Some providers use temporary assignments as an addendum to their permanent position to add variety into their practice or supplement their income. Then again, there are plenty of providers who select the career alternative as their full-time practice. In both cases, you have the benefit of schedule authority.

6. MYTH: Locum tenens assignments typically last just a few days.
There are a variety of circumstances that prompt facilities to request additional clinicians, such as vacations, family leave, open vacancies while they recruit their next staff members, seasonal patient census increases, and even adding new units or services, for example. This variety provides a spectrum of assignment possibilities. There are opportunities for short, quick contracts over a weekend, for example. Other jobs may run a week or two, and even a couple of months. Additionally, providers have agreed to return to a facility on a rotating schedule, such as once a month, which offers the chance to become more familiar with the facility, co-workers, and patients.

7. MYTH: Credentialing takes a long time and is labor-intensive.
Locum tenens providers do undergo thorough vetting before being placed in assignments to care for patients. However, your consultant, along with our Medical Staff Services experts, are available to assist and streamline the process. Our Online Services team gets you started with the All Star application process via our convenient Provider Portal. Your recruiter will coordinate with our credentialing experts to keep the process rolling, such as communicating updates and relaying requests for information. The effort during this stage will speed up the credentialing requirements to secure privileges to practice at facilities as a locum tenens professional.

8. MYTH: It’s hard to form relationships with co-workers and patients during temporary assignments.
From repeat contracts to providing individuals your undivided attention, locum tenens professionals have multiple opportunities to forge unique relationships with patients on their own terms. Additionally, many physicians and advanced practice providers say establishing new friendships on assignments is one of the great perks of the career choice.

9. MYTH: Locum tenens experience may affect future job searches.
Current industry conditions have made staffing a top priority for healthcare organizations, and more facilities are incorporating locum tenens into their staffing strategies. Indeed, accumulating a variety of experiences adds to your CV. Plus, when you work with All Star Healthcare Solutions, you have access to both our Locums and Direct Hire Divisions. If you wish to weigh your options for a new permanent staff role while simultaneously pursuing locum tenens jobs, our recruiters collaborate on both fronts to find you quality positions.

10. MYTH: All locum tenens staffing companies are alike.
Our signature “Red Carpet” Service, a dedication to go above and beyond as a standard, sets All Star Healthcare Solutions apart. We strive to form authentic relationships with physicians and advanced practice providers through which we learn about your professional hopes as well as your personal goals to match you to the most fulfilling opportunities.

To learn more about locum tenens, call a knowledgeable All Star Healthcare Solutions consultant today at 800-928-0229, or contact us online.

by Jonny Hale