The healthcare industry is facing a significant primary care physician (PCP) shortage that's impacting treatment access, quality, and consistency across the U.S. According to a recent Washington Post article, the number of primary care positions offered to medical students by the National Resident Matching Program soared to record heights in 2019. Unfortunately, the overall percentage of primary care positions filled by fourth-year medical students dipped to the lowest number on record.

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.

Recent statistics released by the Association of American Medical Colleges revealed what most healthcare professionals already know: the U.S. is on the cusp of a significant physician shortage. According to the 2019 AAMC report, the country will experience a doctor shortage of up to nearly 122,000 practitioners by the year 2032.

Most medical facilities know that locum tenens physicians deliver several critical advantages to their existing staff. In fact, many healthcare administrators seek out a locum tenens staffing solution specifically to benefit their internal personnel. Locum tenens hires can quickly minimize stress and fatigue levels at an over-tasked and overwhelmed practice. From serving as an extra resource to manage an upswing in patient demand to covering long-term leaves of absence, a locum tenens doctor can help full-time practitioners feel rested and ready to perform at their very best.

The constantly evolving and uncertain healthcare terrain can quickly deplete physician resources in even the most robust personnel environments, instantly triggering a wide range of staffing vulnerabilities. Many healthcare administrators and executives recognize the value in Locum Tenens staffing. However, they often wait until they are faced with a significant employment threat or severe performance gap before leveraging the power of this agile staffing model, simply because they don't recognize the many advantages a contract workforce can offer to both current practitioners as well as their organization as a whole.

Locum Tenens physicians deliver an ideal hiring solution for healthcare administrators struggling to fill personnel gaps throughout every level of their organization. In today's fast-paced, often turbulent, medical terrain, leveraging a Locum Tenens staffing model offers several significant benefits throughout the patient care continuum, including:

• Increased patient engagement
• Continuity of care
• Enhanced service flexibility
• Elevated cost efficiencies

A career as a Locum Tenens physician yields a multitude of professional and personal benefits. Locum Tenens positions allow you to travel the country, gain exposure to multiple healthcare environments, and enjoy workplace flexibility not often found at standard medical practices and facilities. Pursuing medical staffing jobs also typically offers a higher salary than full-time positions and can even deliver an opportunity to "test drive" a particular practice setting to determine if it's the right choice for you.