COVID-19 has put extreme stress on the United States healthcare workforce, causing shortages and increasing fatigue, burnout, and trauma among healthcare workers. Unanswered questions are what the pandemic means to the healthcare workforce, as well as the patients they serve since it's extending on without end.
As a result of COVID-19, the country lost approximately 1.5 million healthcare jobs in the first two months as it shut down clinics and restricted non-emergency services at U.S. hospitals to contain the novel coronavirus. Despite the return of many of those jobs, the number of healthcare workers remains below pre-pandemic levels with a reduction of 176,000 workers compared to February 2020, according to the labor department.
COVID-19 has been exhausting and burnout-inducing for the healthcare workforce. One in three healthcare workers who remain said that they considered quitting during the pandemic. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which analyzes the physician workforce, the United States had nearly 20,000 fewer doctors than needed in 2019. The group estimates that by 2034, the gap could reach as many as 124,000 due to a lack of primary care doctors.
As reported by AAMC, Medscape, and Definitive Healthcare, nearly, 117,000 clinicians and 333,942 healthcare workers left the workforce in 2021. Several specialties reported 60% burnout rates and this number correlates with higher rates of physician loss. Currently, 45% of clinicians are older (>55 years). Hence, in the next 10 days, more than 40% of clinicians will become 65 or older.
According to National Nurses United, an organization that claims 175,000 members across the country, the majority of states have sufficient nurses to meet demand, but hospital staffing and safety policies discourage nurses from working in hospitals.
Some governors, including those in Alabama, Colorado, Maine, New York, and Wisconsin, are pushing for higher compensation for healthcare workers. There have been proposals to expand nurse education programs in Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. A proposal from Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, for example, proposes training more nurses and adding medical residency slots with millions of dollars. Eventually, he said, 1,300 more healthcare workers are to be hired.
COVID-19 has affected hospitals and health systems throughout the nation, and hospitals and health systems are taking action in many ways to help their communities. Despite the slow recovery of hospital volumes, patient acuity and demand have increased. Hospitals have had to incur significant costs in recruiting and retaining employees due to an increase in demand that has not been met by increases in staffing. In the meantime, physicians are fighting against compensation cuts with their employers and the Federal Government. Above all, the major shocking factor is the decision of care providers to make a change as they are unable to put up with the ever-rising demands.
The rise of new technologies makes it possible to be much more flexible when it comes to staffing as well. Here’s the staffing platform named ProLocums for physicians and Voysta for nurses and allied health professionals. They verify the qualifications of healthcare professionals and connect them to employers with open positions in healthcare.
Employers should develop long-term strategies for recruiting and retaining employees if the labor shortage is expected to persist for the next decade. To attract new applicants and create a strong pipeline of future employees, businesses should offer benefits like student loan repayment, referral bonuses, and subsidized housing.
Healthcare workers lost 1.5 million jobs because clinics and hospitals temporarily closed in April 2020 and postponed surgeries to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, multiple studies suggested.
While healthcare employment returned to pre-pandemic levels by the fall of 2020, it still lagged 2.7% behind. Between January 2019 and March 2020, 1.3% of physicians were either unemployed or left the labor force, according to the researchers. This increased to 1.6% by December 2020, then to 1.7% by October 2021.
Hence, many industry stakeholders will be looking for solutions as the healthcare staffing shortage continues. Multiple technologies and effective strategies can be adopted to curb the problem as well as many government initiatives can also help.
In the meantime, address your care facility staffing shortage by signing up ProLocums for hiring locum tenens physicians or Voysta for hiring nurses and allied health professionals.
Absolutely! Here’s how. Doctors who work in locum positions possess high levels of specialization because they can work in multiple medical fields through their varied work opportunities. The locum physician industry features specific positions for medical professionals who are OB/GYNs, radiologists, or cardiologists. Locum doctors select full-time roles because they enjoy the flexibility and higher compensation levels as well as the diversity of roles available to them.
ProLocums collaborates with professional-specific providers each day to assist them in their locum physician job search. The specific breakdown of how specialization operates within locum practices can be explored through the following details.
The locum positions extend beyond general practice clinical work. All medical specialties currently experience a growing need for locum workers. The development of medical expertise by doctors leads to positive outcomes for them in this situation. The locum jobs online opportunity exists for both high-risk neurology specialists and emergency medicine practitioners who want to use their expertise.
Top specialties in demand include
High demand exists in locum practice because of workforce deficits alongside rising patient numbers and the requirement for short-term medical staffing solutions, primarily in rural medical areas without sufficient physician presence.
Medical practitioners remain the leading community of locum professionals, but the employment sector continues to expand. Various healthcare occupations currently provide temporary roles with similar working characteristics to locum positions.
The workforce of advanced practice providers incorporates NPs together with PAs who fill positions in different healthcare settings, including primary care, urgent care, and specialties.
Nurses (RNs & LPNs) are in high demand for temporary roles across the country.
The field of locum work includes various allied professionals such as pharmacists, along with physical therapists, lab scientists, and radiologic technologists.
On-demand dental professionals consisting of specialists and dentists have priority placement requirements in specific geographical areas where physician staffing remains challenging.
Healthcare professionals seeking both flexibility in work and meaningful employment will find a good match through locum jobs online.
The practice of locum has evolved into a permanent locum physician job choice for multiple doctors in healthcare fields. More physicians now opt for locum-only practice because they receive the following advantages:
Locum offers physicians complete freedom to determine their working hours along with their locations and work frequency. Similarly, they get higher pay, often better than permanent roles, especially for high-demand specialties. They will experience less burnout due to reduced administrative burden while focusing more on patient care.
Healthcare professionals who choose locum roles have the chance to see different medical systems at urban hospitals and rural clinics. This lifestyle appeals to early-career doctors exploring different settings. Physicians who have stopped working full-time can utilize such opportunities to work as they please. Similarly, they can enjoy adventurous trips, thereby maintaining work-life balance. Specialists choose this path for obtaining elevated salary prospects together with expanded professional variety options.
Locum and specialization complement each other in powerful ways:
1. Precision Matching
The databases and matching systems at locum agencies help identify facilities requiring specialists according to your recorded skills. Your opportunities to work at your full licensing scope will increase when selected through locum services.
2. Filling Critical Gaps
Hospitals depend on locum specialists to handle vacancies, which become especially important in areas where permanent staff cannot be hired easily. The depth of your skills ensures continuous patient treatment remains strong during critical healthcare moments.
3. Expanding Your Experience
Locating your practice in diverse settings allows specialists to encounter multiple healthcare environments, clinical approaches, medical systems, and patient demographics. Early-stage medical practitioners can boost their careers by working as locums, while professionals at any stage can use locum work for clinical refreshment.
Doctors usually select locum because it provides them with control over their personal lives. Doctors who choose locum can accomplish their goals of finding improved work-life balance and career development as well as exploring new opportunities.
ProLocums exists to assist your professional development. The recruiting team at our company connects medical professionals with roles matching their field through high-demand positions. Our company enables all locums to simplify their lifestyle because we provide premier compensation alongside certification aid with flexible positions and travel benefits.
Ready for your adventure era? Contact our ProLocums staff or view current openings through our website. The right opportunity is waiting.
04/17/2025
The time has come for physicians to investigate different opportunities either during medical residency or after multiple years of practice. Locum jobs provide physicians with the opportunity for flexibility, diverse experiences, and better work-life balance, consequently drawing medical professionals to seek these benefits.
The Latin word ‘Locum tenens’ refers to the term "to hold the place of". It describes the temporary physician practice model addressing healthcare facility physician shortages caused by vacancy gaps or staff absenteeism or higher care needs. Each locum care provider employs independent contractor status through staffing agencies such as ProLocums without changing the healthcare facilities for their work.
Through locum positions, medical practitioners can find numerous possibilities that span between different specialties as well as regions and healthcare environments. Through locum physicians gain the flexibility to design their professional journey by pursuing jobs in various geographical areas and work schedules which include both full-time positions elsewhere and part-time jobs in nearby locations or supplemental work along their existing employment. Locum assignments remain available to residents and fellows although permitted and allow them to gain experience alongside additional compensation.
Results between locum roles and permanent roles include unique sets of advantages and difficulties. Flexible employment through locum positions allows doctors to decide their places of work and their working schedules yet permanent roles grant long-term stability through established locum job roles and regular work hours. Expanded mentorship connections along with health care site variety become available through locum roles but permanent positions provide better opportunities for long-term career development within one healthcare organization. The temporary nature of locum positions produces increased pay because healthcare facilities urgently look for staff while permanent employment provides dependable salaries through structured compensation packages.
Staffing agencies handle travel expenses together with housing costs for their locum physicians yet permanent positions sometimes cover moving costs although the commitments often extend several years. Locum assignments provide stretched breaks after assignments but employers must contribute to employee rest periods through their official policies in permanent positions. The main draw of locum work involves minimal administrative tasks that lead to more patient contact but permanent jobs impose organizational obligations which restrict direct patient care.
Your short-term locum positions contracted work offers both exploratory time in new locations and potential continuations that let you assess a new area as a future residency. Permanent positions force individuals to make a long-term job commitment yet this commitment may become troubling if the job situation proves unsuitable. Locum physicians are responsible for securing their own health insurance and retirement plans because permanent employees receive this coverage through their employer. Introducing a new option in healthcare staff solutions because locum staffing agencies deliver malpractice insurance to their workers while permanent roles from various employers might have different malpractice insurance coverage.
The evolution of medicine proves that no career position exists permanently thus your professional development should adjust accordingly. The locum system works excellently as a professional transition solution during various stages of life.
Your initial career stages present uncertainty regarding practice settings so locum position starts as a solution. Experiences in various practice settings will help you develop your career goals.
The extra income generated from locum physician jobs helps healthcare professionals settle their student loans while saving funds for major expenses. The locum physician job model provides exceptional payment packages to its medical professionals.
Locum physician serves as an ideal career transition tool during times of permanent locum job search before starting a new challenge or when life necessitates change. Through locum practice, you maintain clinical work while deciding what lies ahead.
You want to retire partially without complete cessation from work. Through locum physician practice, you can handle medical responsibilities on flexible hours while traveling for patient care duties.
Through locum practice, you acquire the ability to plan your medical career according to your preferences. With ProLocums in place, you can choose flexible career opportunities that span short-term and long-term timescales across many locations in the United States along with professional assistance through each step of the process.
The time has come to start benefitting from working as a locum physician. Existing applicants at ProLocums can launch their medical career path through current job openings.
03/19/2025
When doctors temporarily fill an empty position it is known as locum doctor service. The medical terminology ‘locum tenens’ serves as a ‘placeholder’ description that characterizes this position. Medical practitioners who take locum positions step into doctor roles to fill in assignments beyond primary physician duties. It also enables them to explore various medical setups and meet multiple patient communities while visiting various destinations.
Regardless of your plans to work as a locum, you must prepare first. This checklist provides you with the necessary steps to follow along the path of locum work.
Locum roles operate on short timeframes which grants healthcare professionals the ability to plan their schedules as they wish. The locum lifestyle enables you to decide when to work for several months before taking a rest between assignments. Your desire for work-life balance can be achieved through locum doctor work since the market demands doctors constantly.
Locum professionals have the advantage of traveling thanks to locum assignments. The healthcare needs of the world provide locum physician jobs through their compliant border-crossing procedures. Working in multiple locations can prove to be difficult. Locals must understand that each job needs adaptation to different workgroups and technological systems along with schedule arrangements and payment procedures.
Before committing, conduct thorough research:
After finding locum work matches your objectives you should start seeking open roles. Online job sites particularly target temporary medical physician jobs. Specialized recruitment agencies like ProLocums can match you with medical positions that suit your preferences.
Application & Interview Process:
Execute these steps after you obtain your position to achieve a successful transfer.
A written agreement provides clarity about the job requirements along with employee duties. It should outline:
The arrangement contains important administrative elements about keys as well as parking arrangements and building procedures.
Administrative Preparation:
The preparation process in advance makes the movement smoother.
Before starting locum work you need complete preparation since it's the essential factor for achievement. The medical care provider who follows this checklist will achieve both success and fulfillment during their locum assignment.
The combination of proper preparation along with confidence and adaptability makes you ready to achieve excellence in your new position. For more details, visit www.prolocums.com.
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