RESOURCES FOR LOCUM TENENS PHYSICIANS

Working as a Locum Tenens Physician is Both Challenging and Rewarding

An interview with Mark Jacobson, MD

An Interventional Radiologist, Dr. Mark Jacobson finds his work both challenging and rewarding as a locum tenens physician for Whitaker Medical. With fifteen years experience, he decided to test the waters working locums. He networked with his colleagues to help him identify staffing companies with noteworthy reputations. Based upon their collective experiences both positive and negative, one staffing organization that rose to the top was Whitaker Medical.

Question: Why did you choose Whitaker Medical?

Answer: When you decide to work with a staffing firm, you want to work with someone that you trust, respect, and understand. Cindy Hayes, at Whitaker Medical, has done a fine job. She is very professional, and is respectful of my privacy and down time. I found other recruiters to be disrespectful, pushy and unprofessional. It was clear to me that the anticipated compensation from making a placement was the motivation behind other recruiters’ tactics. Cindy and her colleagues are dedicated to matching each physician with the appropriate healthcare organization, geographic location, and individual requests.

Question: From a professional perspective, what advantages have you experienced by working as a Locum Tenens Physician?

Answer: Exposure to increasingly diverse and new technologies as it relates to radiological equipment and system operations gives me an added advantage when going to a new location. Working within multiple healthcare systems provides insight on different techniques. Collaborating with a diverse range of radiology professionals has enhanced my own practice. In the fourteen months that I have been practicing as a locum, I have had the opportunity to work with three different PAC systems, which were different from the ones I had worked with before.

Question: In your opinion, can working as a Locum Tenens Physician be a good fit for physicians with families?

Answer: That goes back to having your recruiter as your advocate. I have four children, two in high school and two in college. With two in high school, it is important that my assignments be fairly close to home. Cindy kept all of my personal and professional criteria in mind as she searched for assignments. She successfully and continuously identifies the most attractive opportunities within my restrictive travel radius. I have been consistently working for over a year without a significant number of days off.

Question: Beyond the traditional exposures that contract work can provide, what have you found most rewarding in your work as a Locum Tenens Physician?

Answer: Learning different healthcare treatments can be a daunting task. Having gone from general surgery to interventionalist work, I enjoy solving problems. Facilitating the best treatment plans in collaboration with other physicians based upon innovative diagnostic techniques is truly rewarding.

In summary, working as a locum tenens physician has provided Dr. Jacobson with an opportunity to explore career-enhancing options, and given him exposure to new radiological equipment and talented professionals. He has found locum tenens work to be a positive option in navigating his career and practice goals.