Healthcare Career Blog, Physician Blogs

Smart Physicians Choose Locum Tenens - Even on TV

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 15.05.2009 | Category Healthcare Career Blog, Locum Tenens, Physician Career Path, Retired Physician

Dedicated fans of ABC’s hospital-based comedy series “Scrubs” are still wondering if last week’s episode was a series finale or a season finale. But either way, looks like we’ve seen the last of Dr. Kelso, Scrubs’ Chief of Medicine. As the series wrapped up, Dr. Kelso snatched his last muffin and favorite table from “Coffeebucks” and headed off to do locum tenens work.

While he may not exactly be a fuzzy teddy bear, Dr. Kelso knows a good deal when he sees one. He’s had a long and distinguished career as Chief of Medicine, and even though he could be a retired physician, he wants to remain active in the profession, visit new (mostly tropical island?) locations, and retain more control over his schedule and working life. Plus the money’s not bad either. Guess the series writers know that locum tenens jobs are an ideal option for career physicians of retirement age who still want an active role in the healthcare field.

We wish good luck to Dr. Kelso. (Oh, and aloha!)

What is the Most Likely Reason Rural Communities have Physician Shortages?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 13.04.2009 | Category Hospitals, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, OB GYN jobs, Orthopedic Surgery, Physician Career Path, Physician Shortage, Physicians

If we were on the popular tv game show Family Feud (now hosted by John O’Hurley, of Seinfeld fame), the question might be put to us this way:

Name a reason that big cities tend to have more doctors than rural communities:

Would you name either of these two reasons?

• Affluent areas pay higher salaries than rural areas
• Physicians tend to settle down near the place they were trained

And the Survey Says …

Both! Affluent communities in and around big cities are where the majority of medical schools and teaching hospitals are located. As doctors leave school and move forward with their careers in physician residency jobs, they tend to settle near the large teaching hospitals where they trained.

For example, San Francisco and Washington DC are loaded with medical schools, as well as high-income residents:

• San Francisco, California, had 117 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents.
• Washington, D.C., had 102 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents

Whereas, in these more rural communities with fewer medical schools and lower household income:

• McAllen, Texas, had just 45 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents
• El Paso, Texas, had 47 primary care doctors per 100,000 residents

Who were the researchers that did the study?

The nonprofit group that conducted the survey was The Dartmouth Atlas, funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The purpose of this group is to provide research, information and analysis about hospitals, doctors and healthcare markets.

For the research, the nonprofit group evaluated 306 regions nationwide, using data from the government, the American Medical Association, and the American Hospital Association.

The study also found that areas with more doctors tend to have a decreasing amount of hospital beds. But some rural areas have far more beds per capita than more heavily populated areas. For example:

• San Francisco suburb of San Mateo had 1.45 hospital beds per 1,000 residents
• While Mississippi’s Jackson and Gulfport both had 4.44 beds per 1,000 residents

What does this all mean for consumers and registered voters who are looking for healthcare reform?

Dr. David Goodman, a professor of pediatrics and community and family medicine at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, which publishes the Atlas had these suggestions:

• Congress should require the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to use its payment policies to try to limit hospital growth in regions that have too many beds.
• National healthcare reform, should it be implemented, should set up a national commission to direct training dollars to high-need specialties such as primary care physicians

And what is the recommendation for communities that need to attract high quality physicians for staff openings? First, they start by attracting locum tenens in hopes that these physicians may choose to settle in their areas permanently. Once a physician has had a chance to live in a new place, and experienced the alternative to the fast-paced, busy metropolitan lifestyle, they may be more inclined to make the move a permanent one.

What else does it take? Great pay and benefits, less stressful work environments, and a desire to try something new are the top motivators to change for medical doctor jobs in specialties like OB/GYN and Orthopedic Surgery.

Physician Jobs Lead to Substantial Student Loan Repayment Award

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 31.03.2009 | Category Colorado Physician Jobs, Education, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, OB GYN jobs, Physician Career Path, Physician Recruitment, Physicians, Pschyriatry Jobs

As the doctor shortage worsens in rural and high-need areas nationwide, states are stepping up incentives to recruit physicians of all types. New York State alone has pledged $22 million to its Doctors Across New York Program and Michigan is working hard to abate a projected physician shortage of 6,000 doctors over the next ten years. Physician recruitment agencies are focused on these areas and fast-tracking physician specialists for permanent and locum tenens jobs.

Why offer payback incentives in a field known for high salaries? The simple fact is, practicing medicine in what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services refers to as a designated Health Professional Shortage Area – or underserved market – isn’t as lucrative as physician jobs located in larger market areas. So, in exchange for student loan payback incentives, qualifying doctors agree to work in shortage areas for three to five years and dedicate one-third of their practice to treating patients with Medicaid, Medicare or no insurance at all, depending on the requirements of individual state and federal payback programs.

The Colorado Health Foundation’s Physician Loan Repayment Program is currently awarding eligible doctors up to $50,000 a year for a maximum of three years if they serve in a qualified rural or urban Colorado community. Currently, 57 percent of the state’s 64 counties lack enough primary-care physicians to sufficiently serve the population. The program awarded more than $2 million to 18 physicians in 2008. Physician recruitment agencies are ideal sources to find physician jobs and locum tenens opportunities in these areas as well as highly coveted positions located in Metropolitan areas.

Student loan payback incentives have been around for a few years. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the state of Louisiana developed the Greater New Orleans Health Service Corps, an organization offering incentives of up to $110,000, including student loan repayment and income guarantees to doctors, dentists and other medical professionals willing to work in post-disaster conditions – a move to lure needed doctors into the ravaged city and to stanch an outmigration of doctors eyeing greener pastures. The federal government provided $15 million to finance the Louisiana program and the state awarded 81 grants to attract physicians for primary care medical doctor jobs, OB GYN jobs, psychiatry jobs, dentists and a handful of nurses and counselors.

For doctors less interested in pay and more inclined to utilize their skills to help what most would consider the underprivileged, states across the country have various programs in place that offer doctors loan repayment in exchange for medical services. Oregon’s Rural Health Services Loan Repayment Program offers to repay 20 to 25 percent of the loan principle for health professionals who agree to work in a rural
hospital, a rural health clinic or pharmacy located in either a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area or state designated Area of Unmet Health Care.

For doctors not interested in practicing medicine, The National Institute for Health offers health professionals up to $35,000 in student loan repayment for a commitment as a medical researcher. Not such a bad deal, say loan payback proponents.

Why are Primary Care Physicians in High Demand for Locum Tenens Jobs?

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 06.03.2009 | Category Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians

Findings cite that poor doctor morale and staffing practice issues have caused many physicians to reconsider their career options.

• Doctor morale is low and physicians are seeking ways to curtail the amount of time they spend working, according to a survey of 12,000 doctors from the Physicians’ Foundation, Boston.
• 41% of primary care respondents - about 9,000 doctors - said if they could choose their career again, they would go into a surgical or diagnostic specialty.
• 50% of respondents say they plan to take steps that would limit patient access in the next three years—either retire, work part time, close their practices, eliminate certain payers or work locum tenens.

At the same time, industry sources state the highest demand for medical doctor jobs exist in these top 10 areas for physicians seeking permanent or locum tenens jobs:

• Primary Care
• Internal Medicine
• Hospitalist
• OB/GYN
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Radiology
• Psychiatry
• Emergency Medicine
• Neurology
• General Surgery

Where are the jobs? All across the country, experts have determined. Nationwide openings exist for qualified physicians in a multitude of medical settings including:

• Urban hospitals
• Rural clinics
• Medical schools
• Managed care
• Doctor’s groups
• Private practice

With top salary and benefits, new patient care settings, and the opportunity to pursue quality of life activities, medical doctors are finding locum tenens employment provides fresh perspectives and boosts morale in the process.

Who accepts locum tenens medical doctor jobs?

Almost half of all physicians who engage locum tenens jobs do it for the flexible schedule. Other reasons include travel opportunities, extra income and to expand clinical horizons.

• Mid-career physicians use locum tenens jobs to bridge the income gap while searching for a permanent physician staffing position.
• Seasoned physicians use locum tenens medical doctor jobs as a means of scaling back on work load without fully retiring. This enables excellent earnings while practicing medicine in a variety of healthcare markets and environments.
• All physicians in search of diversifying their medical experience, pursuing research and working with various cultures and socioeconomic classes

Talk to an experienced locum tenens agency today for more information and find out if locum tenens employment is right for you.

Sources

Merritt Hawkins & Associates: Summary Report Review of Physician & CRNA Recruiting Incentives

Hospitals & News Network: SURVEY: DOCTORS TO CURTAIL PRACTICES

How to Become a Licensed & Board Certified Physician

Author Healthcare Career Blogger | 05.03.2009 | Category Board Certification, Education, Healthcare Career Blog, Licenses, Locum Tenens, Medical doctor jobs, Physician Career Path, Physicians

A licensed and board certified physician must complete specific stages of medical education and meet internship requirements to become a fully licensed and board certified physician. Those stages are:

• Pre-medical
• Medical school
• Sub-internship
• Internship
• Residency
• Fellowship
• Pre-medical
• Medical school
• Sub-internship
• Internship
• Residency
• Fellowship

Board certification includes these elements:

• Licensure
• Continuing medical education

What are the pathways recommended to obtain a medical degree to practice and work as a physician in the United States?

• Medicine (MD)
• Osteopathic (DO)
• (IMG)

What kinds of degrees can be obtained?

• Doctor of Medicine
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
• MD/PhD or DO/PhD

What exams are required to become a licensed physician?

• MCAT
• COMLEX
• Step 1, 2CE, 2PE, 3
• USMLE
• Step 1, 2CK, 2CS, 3

What are the regulatory bodies that govern the education and licensing of physicians in the United States?

• Association of American Medical College
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
• National Resident Matching Program
• National Matching Service
• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education
• Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation
• Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
• American Osteopathic Association
• American Medical Association

Medical doctor jobs are available to licensed and board certified physicians to work as permanent physicians and/or locum tenens in hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the United States.

See Medical doctor jobs and locum tenens specialties

What organizations can medical students belong to in college that will help them advance their education?

Student groups include:

• American Medical Student Association
• Alpha Omega Alpha
• Sigma Sigma Phi
• Student National Medical Association