NALTO Fall Fly-In: The Past, Present, and Future of Locum Tenens

“‘Learning how others are tackling the obstacles our industry faces and embracing the new opportunities helps us serve the locum tenens industry better,’ says Olivia Reed, NALTO’s Conference Committee Chair. ‘This year, I’m especially excited about the Past, Present, and Future President’s panel. It’s going to be such a unique experience to learn how our industry has shifted over the years and what these industry experts foresee for the future.’

Amidst record-breaking growth in the temporary physician staffing market, the locum tenens world converges once again next week for the annual Fall Fly-In hosted by the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations on Sept. 26-27, 2023, in picturesque Park City, Utah.”

By Bradley Roberts

Read the entire article by clicking here: https://www.locumpedia.com/news/2023-nalto-fall-fly-in-preview/

I’m an ER Pediatrician. I Won’t Let my Kid Do These 5 Summer Activities

“Summer is around the corner. Pediatric emergency medicine doctors share the risky summer activities children should avoid and safety tips for parents: playing with fireworks, go in or around home pools unsupervised, swim in a rough ocean, spend time in the sun without protection, and riding a bike without a helmet. These aren’t the only popular activities that are risky or unsafe for children. TODAY.com reported previously that pediatric emergency medicine also experts caution against these activities year-round: driving ATVs, jumping on trampolines unsupervised, touching unfamiliar pets, riding in the front seat of a car under the age of 13, and going into another home without asking about firearms.”

Read the entire article by clicking on the link below:
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/im-an-er-pediatrician-i-wont-let-my-kid-do-these-5-summer-activities/3265940/?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DFWBrand&fbclid=IwAR14XFxpc3b_yQjWKHGEPIkYyP_pPlvfBvjq-wop_CpVo3SQJsHDWT7-iho

Survey Shows Burnout Not Common Among Locum Tenens Physicians

“Although physician burnout is common among most medical practice models, there is one niche that has thus far avoided it: locum tenens.
A survey of 2500 clinicians found that burnout is rare for doctors doing contract work. Those in non-locum jobs had a burnout rate of 40% with 17% saying they are significantly or completely burned out, but 71% of locum tenens contractors reported little to no burnout.”

Click on the link below to read the full article written by Todd Shryock:
https://www.urologytimes.com/view/survey-shows-burnout-not-common-among-locum-tenens-physicians

Locum Tenens Provider Spotlight – Dr. L

Specialty: Internal Medicine/Hospitalist
Home State: Maine
Practicing Locum Tenens Since: 2022

Getting to Know Dr. L:

Why did you first pursue locum tenens work?
During the early part of the pandemic, I had a lot of time to re-evaluate my life goals. I noticed that I needed to gain more knowledge of financial matters. So I started my journey to becoming more financially literate, and when my eyes were opened, I concluded that I could not retire comfortably based on my current savings rate. Things have to change. So I tightened my budget and decided that the best way to bolster my income would be to do per diems and locums.

Describe the most unique assignment you’ve worked.
There isn’t anything unique with my hospitalist assignments. I work in three sites, and although they’re different, they’re also similar in how medicine is practiced. However, if I have to choose, it would be the smallest critical-care access hospital where I am doing per diem work since they do not have specialists and they are also not connected to any of the bigger hospital systems in the state; thus, it is sometimes scary not to have specialty back-up and simply relying on curb-siding specialists in the other two hospitals where I work

What medical advancements would you like to see in the next 5 years?
More immunotherapies for not just advanced cancers but even for early-stage cancers. I have been a hospitalist for 13 years now. For the past 3-4 years, I have seen a gradual shift in my goals of care discussions for stage 4 cancer patients from palliative- and hospice-focused to actively treating acute issues so they can start or continue with immunotherapy. Of course, it helps that most of these new drugs are also well-tolerated and effective. I also would like to see more advancement in gene editing technology applied to fields like transplant medicine, oncology, and endocrinology.

Recipe for More Rural Physicians

“Exposure to rural medicine during residency training is associated with a significant increase in the likelihood a physician will practice in a rural setting upon entering practice, a recently published study found.

The study—published in the Journal of Graduate Medical Education—found that family medicine residents who spent 50% or more of their training time in rural settings were at least five times more likely than residents with no rural training to practice in a rural setting. The findings, gathered from a sample of more than 12,000 family medicine physicians who completed residency training between 2008 and 2012, also indicate that even a small amount of rural training time—between 1%-9%—significantly increases the odds of a trainee subsequently opting for rural practice.”

To read the full article: https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-residents/transition-resident-attending/recipe-more-rural-physicians-more-exposure
By: Brendan Murphy