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Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC): Increasing Speed to Market for Locum Tenens

Medical providers who wish to practice in multiple states have traditionally faced a timely and cumbersome licensure process to do so. Therefore, many locum tenens companies have entire departments dedicated to helping physicians and advanced practitioners complete the necessary verification and credentialing requirements needed to begin any assignment. This includes assisting providers who need to attain (or renew) their license to practice medicine, a process that’s historically taken as long as six months in a single state.

Therein lies the recent good news from the Federation of State Medical Boards regarding the onset of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (or “IMLC”), designed to expedite the process for physicians to obtain multiple licenses through a single application.

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Preparing for A Locum Tenens Provider to Join Your Team

The addition of a locum tenens physician to your facility’s team yields the most effective results by first properly preparing them to provide coverage in conjunction with your existing medical staff.

Unlike allied healthcare or nurse travel personnel who are procured for 13-week assignments or longer, doctors practicing locum tenens are expected to fill very specific roles that unfortunately don’t allow them the luxury to ramp up as they go.

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Know Before You Go: Preparing for a Locum Tenens Assignment

Whether you’re a seasoned locum tenens physician or you’ve just accepted your first contract opportunity, proper preparation is key to a successful assignment. The following is suggested for all providers to consider before their next start date:

  • EHR

One of the reasons doctors are drawn to locum tenens is the opportunity to get back to basics, and practice medicine in a way that sheds many of the bureaucratic obstacles faced by their full-time counterparts. However, a healthcare facility’s electronic health records (EHR) system is still part of the job that everyone shares. For any locum tenens provider, unfamiliarity with the EHR often equates to the largest time-waster they’ll encounter on any given assignment. Ask your recruiter about the system used by the facility you’re about to walk into, and make sure this administrative duty is not the pain point that stands in your way from quality time with patients.

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Transitioning to Locum Tenens Work

If pundits are to be believed, there will be an overwhelming need for qualified healthcare workers in the coming years.  With many doctors and nurses approaching the age of retirement, fewer students entering healthcare professions, and a growing number of insured individuals seeking medical services, there will soon be a shortage of professionals to care for those in need.

What does this mean for current healthcare professionals and those just entering the medical field? For one, it could mean a lot more job openings as well as alternative job types. To fill this growing need, many healthcare providers and facilities are opening up locum jobs to fill any gaps in coverage.

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Can You Have Job Security Through Locum Tenens?

Locum Tenens opportunities are more plentiful and more fruitful than ever. Clinicians who take advantage of Locum Tenens work can expect a secure future in the healthcare field.

There is no doubt that job security is a concern for the American workforce. Recent graduates hope to find a job that allows them to pay off their student loans and industry veterans look forward to a comfortable retirement. To achieve their goals, working men and women must find jobs that offer some level of security. This is no different for individuals in the healthcare field. Fortunately, clinicians who participate in Locum Tenens work are afforded the high level of job security they desire, along with numerous other benefits.

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Learning EMR Systems as a Locum Tenens Worker

As a locum tenens worker you can expect to encounter new electronic medical records (EMR) or electronic health records (EHR) systems at every job. The can all be very different, so learning one will not always make it easier to learn the next. How can you cope with having to learn your way around new systems at every job? Is it even worth trying?

All you have to do is speak with your locum tenens network to discover that locum workers are not only making the best of the situation, but many are reaping even greater rewards in the process. Here's what you should know before you turn down the opportunities inherent to locum tenens work.

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Automation Creating Effective Contact Solutions in Healthcare

Ensuring patient satisfaction is a critical aspect of healthcare, but it is also time consuming. Automated solutions are helping physicians effectively communicate with patients.

Patient satisfaction is essential to the success of any healthcare practice. In a world where physicians experience extreme time constraints, ensuring the satisfaction of each patient can seem like an impossible task. Fortunately, healthcare companies are now creating solutions that allow practices to effectively communicate with patients without the stress of a time crunch.

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6 Ways to Effectively Work with a Locum Tenens Recruiter

Locum tenens practitioners are in higher demand than ever. With a nationwide physician shortage, an aging population, and increased access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act, healthcare organizations across the country are turning to locums staffing solutions. If you find yourself working with a locum tenens recruiter, we’ve got some top tips for helping that relationship to be effective for everyone involved.

1. Be Upfront

Whether you are fresh out of your residency or a seasoned professional, you are likely to have some understanding of what you are looking for in a placement and where your strengths and weaknesses are. Being upfront with your recruiter about your ideal placement, your experiences, and your utilization will help them find the best placements to suit your needs.

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The locum tenens process: From inquiry to paycheck

Engaging in locum tenens practice as a full-time career or on a part-time basis is simpler than you might think. While there are several steps in the process that take you from initial inquiry to being paid for providing services, each one is straightforward. The process will vary somewhat among agencies, but here are nine steps that are consistent from firm to firm.

 

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Ethics: What locum tenens physicians should know

Within the locum tenens industry, there are ethical guidelines that, when followed, make life easier for all involved—from the physicians and the facilities where they practice, to the locum tenens agencies that put the two parties together. Here are a few things every physician should know about ethics and locum tenens practice.

LOCUM TENENS COMPANIES

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Consider part-time locum tenens to boost income

When the economy is unstable, as it is now and most likely will be for some time to come, even high-income professionals feel the impact. An economic downturn probably will not mean, as it does for many people, that doctors will have to cut back on essential purchases such as food, clothing, and fuel. But if you are watching your retirement account balance fluctuate wildly and have seen the value of your home decline over the last couple of years, you may be feeling the pinch—if only in terms of your ability to plan for the future and afford a few luxuries.

 

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Simplifying the medical staff application process

Every physician knows that the process of applying for medical staff membership and privileges can be tedious and time consuming. The forms and photocopies, that long list of yes/no questions, and pouring over the clinical privilege request sheet can take hours. The good news for locum tenens physicians is that, with a little organization on the front end, this process can be streamlined considerably. The best locum tenens agencies do everything they can to reduce paperwork for doctors who are busy traveling the country (and sometimes the world) to practice medicine.

While locum tenens agencies are not in a position to perform formal "credentialing," any reputable firm will do a thorough credentials review based on the same standards as hospitals before presenting a physician to a practice location. Because they not only understand their clients' quality standards, but are also responsible for procuring or facilitating malpractice coverage for the physicians with whom they contract, staffing companies engage only well-trained and highly-qualified individuals.

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Why locum tenens may be the perfect career now

For decades, physicians have engaged in locum tenens practice for a variety of reasons at different times throughout their careers. Newly minted residents unsure about where they want to settle or what type of practice setting they might enjoy use locum tenens as a way to explore options. Mid-career physicians take locum tenens engagements to see how other practices operate or when they are between permanent jobs. Semi-retired doctors enjoy that locum tenens allows them to keep a hand in medicine without the hassle of staying fully immersed in practice.

Today, given the unstable economy and that healthcare reform is under serious discussion in Washington, physicians are looking at locum tenens for new reasons. Here are a few scenarios that locum tenens agency recruiters are seeing unfold.

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Acing the phone interview

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That rule especially applies to phone interviews for locum tenens positions. Unlike approaching a permanent-practice opportunity where you might engage in several phone interviews followed by an on-site visit, the locum tenens evaluation process usually occurs during the course of a single phone conversation. During this brief encounter, it is important to make a good first impression, and equally important to use the time to make sure you will be comfortable stepping into the temporary practice opportunity under consideration.

Before the phone interview, your recruiter will have made a provisional "match" between you and the hospital or clinic you are considering. You will already know a reasonable amount about the scope and requirements of the assignment, and the person interviewing you will have reviewed your CV and references.

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Your CV: What to include, what to leave off

Depending on how long you have been out of training, your curriculum vitae (Latin, meaning "course of life," CV for short) may fit onto one page or have the heft of a small book. Either way, it is important to keep this record of your education, training, experience, and professional accomplishments up to date.

Physicians often have questions about what to include and what to leave off their CVs. Here are tips to help ensure that your CV makes a positive impression when you are seeking locum tenens engagements.

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Five constants of career development

Whether you are a year out of residency or a year from retirement, there are certain career constants that you enjoy - or contend with, depending on your point of view - as a physician. Embracing ongoing career development can help ensure a satisfying and meaningful professional life. Consider these five practice guidelines.

Clinical advances keep you on your toes.

Physicians are fortunate to be in a field that is constantly changing. While it may feel daunting at times to stay up to date, lack of intellectual stimulation is never a problem. Keeping up clinically is easier than ever, thanks to the Internet. Online CME abounds in all specialty areas so that you can earn credit whether you are in the office, at home, in a hotel, or at the airport. Being able to read your favorite journal articles online makes it easy to keep up with the latest medical developments. It is important for physicians to stay current not only in clinical matters, but also with advances in information technology. More and more hospitals and clinics are converting to electronic systems, so being computer-phobic is no longer an option.

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Tax tips for locum tenens physicians

Although it is only January, April 15 will be here before you know it. Physicians who practice locum tenens are independent contractors and, as such, have certain financial opportunities and responsibilities related to their tax status. Here are six ways to reduce stress and help you save on taxes when it is time to file your returns.

KEEP GOOD EXPENSE RECORDS

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Strategies for obtaining state medical licenses

Much like obtaining staff privileges at hospitals, the process of getting state medical licenses is becoming more arduous for physicians as medical boards tighten standards. As you consider your locum tenens career, think strategically about which licenses you will need. The more places you are licensed, the more choices you will have, but that does not mean you need a license in dozens of states. Depending on the size of the primary states in which you practice—the larger the state, the more opportunities typically available—five to eight is probably about right.

STATE PREFERENCES

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From NALTO: Managing student loan debt

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average debt for a 2008 medical school graduate is $139,517, and more than 75% of graduates have debt in excess of $100,000. These figures are comparable to a home mortgage in some parts of the country. This enormous debt can be daunting, especially considering that a physician does not begin earning (residency salary aside) until his or her late 20s or even early-to-mid 30s.

Doctors often want to pay off student loans as quickly as possible, but investment executive Joe Potosky of MV Financial Group in Bethesda, Maryland, ( http://www.mvfgroup.com/) says they should approach debt management strategically. "People get psychologically attached to accomplishing an objective that may not be the most sound," says Potosky. "Don't let your emotions get in the way of a good business decision."

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Making yourself marketable for locum tenens practice

Whether you practice locum tenens full-time or accept only the occasional engagement, there are ways to make yourself more attractive and marketable to both locum tenens agencies and their client facilities. It is all about flexibility, adaptability, affability, thinking strategically, and staying organized.

Physicians who enjoy steady locum tenens contracts know the importance of being flexible. This means being willing to travel to locations outside your immediate area and to practice in a variety of medical settings. For instance, locum tenens physicians may find themselves seeing patients in a rural community with a 40-bed hospital one month and in a metropolitan university hospital the next. You may think you only want to practice in outpatient settings in California, but opening yourself up to different locations and practice environments can be very rewarding. And, while the majority of locum tenens placements are arranged weeks or months in advance, occasionally an emergency arises that requires immediate coverage in a hospital or clinic. Be that physician if you can.

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