Quick summary: Hiring short-term locum tenens physicians allows hospitals to manage workloads effectively and reduce costs during critical staffing shortages. This flexible arrangement supports the well-being of permanent medical staff by preventing burnout and ensuring continuous patient care in vulnerable or rural areas. Partnering with specialist recruitment agencies helps healthcare facilities maintain this essential talent pipeline to improve public policy and healthcare practice delivery.

If you’re from the medical field, you must have heard of “locum tenens” at least once in your life.

The importance of locum tenens is often overlooked, yet it is the solution to many medical staffing problems. 

The locum tenens industry is a vital part of the healthcare system. It has grown steadily over the past five years and is now a billion-dollar industry in the US. This growth is because locum tenens doctors can be provided when the need arises. 

So who are these locums? How can they be beneficial to your Hospital? Allow us to clear the air.

Locum tenens: Who are they?

Locum tenens, or “locum”, refers to a physician hired on a short-term basis to cover for a physician who cannot work. While some hospitals use locums to fill in when an existing staff physician is out, others use locums to cover for a physician on leave or who has left the Hospital altogether. 

Hiring locums can be a great way to reduce costs in the short term, as locums are usually paid less than permanent medical staff. However, it is important to remember that, while hiring a locum is less expensive than hiring a full-time employee, locum tenens need to be used appropriately to get the best out of them.

How hiring locum tenens can help

There are several benefits to using locum tenens for staffing rather than hiring permanent staff. 

First, healthcare facilities can save a lot of money when hiring locum tenens instead of full-time employees. This is because locum tenens are paid only for the days they are on-site at the Hospital, instead of permanent employees paid for their entire shift. 

Another advantage is that locum tenens are much easier to fire if they are not performing well. It can take months and months with permanent employees to find a replacement for a poor-performing employee; with locum tenens, it is as easy as sending them home and hiring another replacement.

Hospitals can reach rural areas and serve more patients

Health experts and government bodies agree that the most vulnerable in society need greater access to specialist healthcare services. 

How can this be achieved? 

One solution is to use locum tenens, or locum doctors, to fill in for staff and ensure that these essential services are delivered to all who need them. It’s also a chance for hospitals to expand their services and ensure that nobody is left without access to remedies and treatments they would not otherwise receive.

Locum tenens allow work flexibility

For the past many years, hospitals have increasingly used locum tenens to fill staffing gaps and bring medical staff for short periods. This has allowed hospitals to bring in new programs and services without having to sign a multi-year contract. 

Even when a hospital is willing to bring in new programs and services, they may not know how much of a patient load they will get. These are situations when hospitals could benefit from locum tenens. The programme can be scrapped if it is not a success.

Better workload management

Many hospitals, especially in the US, find it challenging to manage their patient caseload, especially when they are short-staffed. 

For example, a hospital generally has four surgeons. If one of them has to leave the Hospital in between, it puts a load on other surgeons. 

This is where a locum tenen steps in. 

Using locum tenens as immediate substitutes helps surgeons focus on their work without worrying about the workload. The locum tenen can make way for a proper surgeon once the hospital management finds a suitable replacement. 

The key to making workload management work through locum staffing is having a reliable pipeline of qualified candidates ready to step in at short notice, which is something most hospital HR teams are not equipped to build and maintain on their own. A dedicated recruitment partner that specializes in locum placements can dramatically reduce the gap between identifying a staffing need and having a credentialed physician on the floor. Facilities looking to strengthen that pipeline can benefit from professional locum recruitments through Caliber Health, which connects hospitals with thoroughly vetted physicians across specialities and manages the full placement process so administrators can focus on patient care rather than staffing logistics.

How (or where) to find locum tenens?

There are several best locum agencies for doctors. They have an extensive database of locums you can browse and hire temporarily. Simply connect with any good agency and take in any number of locums for your hospital. 

Ellen Diamond, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.