Locum tenens assignments can be adventures or nightmares. For some physicians, locum tenens jobs may be an opportunity to travel and experience other cultures. In a Medpage article titled “6 Ways to Turn Locum Tenens into an Adventure of a Lifetime” several doctors described how locum tenens experiences improved their quality of life.

One physician arranged her locum tenens schedule around her pregnancy and later around being able to spend time with her child. Another physician picked assignments along the coast so that she could sail from assignment to assignment. A third physician scheduled assignments around NASCAR events and other race tracks.

However, in the comments section to the article, one physician noted that, in his case, the “the picture is not so rosy.” Because staffing companies are compensated by the hospitals and not by the physicians, this physician believed that the staffing companies are beholden to the hospitals. He compared the staffing companies to realtors who emphasize attractive parts of a potential assignment while omitting or discounting discouraging aspects of a potential assignment. Once a locum provider signs a staffing agreement, if the job duties or work environment has been misrepresented this physician stated that it is “too bad” because the provider “has already signed a contract.”

A follow up comment noted that most contacts have 30 day termination clauses and that providers can leave an unsatisfactory arrangement if necessary. In general, this follow up commenter noted that in his experience, locum agencies seemed to be fair. “On the other hand,” he noted, “[facilities] vary a lot.”

It is important to research hospitals and staffing companies and review the pros and cons of any locum tenens assignment to help make your locums tenens experience an adventure and not a nightmare.

Sites to Help Research Pros and Cons of Locum Tenens Hospitals and Staffing Companies

  • The Better Business Bureau. BBB ratings may skew toward the high side, but the site also contains customer reviews which can provide insight into the hospital or business actions.
  • Yelp.com. So this may not be the most reliable site for reviews, but if multiple people complain about high wait times or poor staffing at a particular hospital, it may give cause for concern. Google reviews are another source of similar information.
  • Glassdoor.com. You’ll have to register to access the site. Use a temporary e-mail from Guerrillamail.com if you don’t want future spam from them. Glassdoor will give you an insight into how employees view the company and about ratings of the CEO.
  • Judyrecords.com. Has the staffing company you work with been sued by its physicians? How often has the hospital you’re being recruited for been sued? Judyrecords has a free searchable database of 485 million court cases in the United States. If you know the state and county of the business you’re researching, you can also look up the court county clerk’s office in that county and see if electronic record searches are available.

Click here to learn how BAM Medical Staffing works with physicians to help improve locum tenens assignments.