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Locum Tenens Offers Mid-Career Revitalization

There is no “wrong” time in your career to explore locum tenens contracts. New practitioners can test out different work settings and locations while deciding where they might like to settle down, while more seasoned healthcare professionals may use locums to ease their way into retirement.

Significant benefits also abound for providers in the middle of their career, with reduced risk of burnout topping the list. According to a 2020 Medscape report that looked at how different generations experience the pressures they face, mid-career is typically the time of highest burnout. In addition to potentially assuming more managerial responsibilities at work, mid-career providers may also be juggling multiple roles outside of work, such as caring for children and/or elderly parents, and planning for retirement.

Here, we list five ways working locum tenens can help alleviate mid-career burnout:

1. Schedule flexibility. An oft-cited source of burnout is too many hours on the job, due to long shifts, call duty, and time spent on a daily commute. Locum tenens physicians, NPs, PAs, and CRNAs decide when—and when not to—accept opportunities. That applies to time off in between assignments, as well.
2. Focus on patient care. Locum tenens clinicians have one responsibility: their patients. They are not expected to get involved with committees, bureaucracy, administrative red-tape, or anything else that may evoke feelings of burnout.
3. Broader horizons. Stepping in at different facilities with varied patient populations and a new cast of colleagues can help to keep things fresh and exciting, which may revive a love of medicine that sometimes gets buried in the face of impending burnout.
4. Supplemental income. Financial worries can be a major source of stress. Supplementing your income by accepting locum tenens jobs can help you pay off student debt, reduce credit card balances, fund children’s college expenses, and/or cushion a nest egg for retirement.
5. Change of scenery. Some physicians and advanced practitioners use locums as a way to explore the country and indulge their interests. Whether you want to be near the mountains for skiing, the beaches for surfing, or anywhere in between, having the ability to do your favorite things can go a long way toward alleviating burnout.

To learn more about locum tenens opportunities, contact All Star Healthcare Solutions today online or by calling 800-928-0229. We are excited to provide you with “Red Carpet” Service at every interaction.