Hiring Locum Tenens physicians can reduce performance gaps at your medical practice, lower stress on an overburdened staff, and drive positive patient outcomes. However, like any hiring model, timing is everything when filling Locum Tenens positions. A lengthy hiring process can mean missing out on the right candidate for your healthcare organization. Launch your search armed with these crucial tips to expedite the Locum Tenens hiring process and help optimize the ultimate success of your selected candidates.

Healthcare providers across every specialty utilize Locum Tenens physicians for a myriad of reasons. Locum Tenens practitioners can eliminate performance gaps, provide added coverage for doctor absences and shortages, and reduce the impending threat of clinician burnout. Despite the many benefits offered with Locum Tenens staffing, many healthcare professionals are still reluctant to integrate this hiring practice within their facility, especially if they've never pursued this type of staffing model before.

Physician burnout has reached epidemic proportions for healthcare providers across the U.S. The long shifts, demanding pace, and extensive patient loads have always made healthcare environments of every size a veritable breeding ground for excessive stress and anxiety. However, recent provider trends, such as the ever-increasing physician shortage, integration of new technologies, evolving work responsibilities, and shifting payment models have exacerbated our physicians' fatigue levels. A 2018 report revealed that an astonishing 83 percent of practitioners, clinical leads, and organizational executives viewed physician burnout as an issue within their facility.

Including Locum Tenens providers as part of your hiring model can deliver several vital benefits to both patients and other facility clinicians. Locum Tenens physicians undergo a rigorous screening process, hold the latest certifications, and have a proven track record of upholding the highest standards of patient care practices. 

Additionally, an LT provider can serve as an invaluable resource for healthcare organizations struggling with clinician shortages and overworked internal staff members. The lack of qualified medical professionals, coupled with the rise in care needs across the country, has many practices and providers struggling to keep pace with patient needs. Adding even a single Locum Tenens doctor can redistribute a healthcare facility’s workload, helping to increase patient experience and results as well as reduce the very real threat of physician burnout.