There was a time when locum tenens was the career swan song of older physicians. A locums assignment was a way for a semiretired, 60-year-old emergency medicine physician from Crystal, Minnesota to ditch a frigid winter in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and spend January through April working in sunny southern California – easing out of a practice and into retirement (and golfing and bird watching).

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The physician workforce is evolving and the locum tenens workforce is growing. A few months ago we published the article: Why more physicians are considering a locum tenens career. We noted that regardless of why or how a physician vacancy exists, healthcare facilities have to maintain patient care quality – so they regularly hire part-time or temporary locum tenens physicians to fill the gap. Several recent surveys, including one from The Physician Foundation, found that 46% of doctors will change their practice styles within three years and 9% plan to work locum tenens.

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