A successful locum career is something that is available to anyone who wants to enter this market. If you get it right then there are some great benefits, from earning higher rates through to greater flexibility when it comes to working hours and practice coverage. Below are some of our tips for entering the locum market and making it work for you.
Confidence is key
You don’t have to be the loudest voice in the room but confidence in your abilities goes a long way when you’re working in different environments and with different teams. Be enthusiastic and ready to integrate into your new environment quickly and develop your own methods for keeping positivity high.
Communicate
You need to be able to settle in fast as a locum and you may not be staying in one place for that long. Strong communication skills allow you to easily slot into an existing structure and make yourself indispensible to those already in it.
Be flexible
The more flexible you can be as a locum, the more work you’re likely to get and the broader your experiences will be. Whether that’s flexibility with respect to hours, location or dates you’ll be a much more attractive prospect if you don’t have a rigid schedule and expectations.
Look for the opportunities
There are some areas of medicine where numbers of locum jobs are through the roof. A&E jobs, for example, as well as surgical and oncology jobs will offer a fairly constant stream of work as there is an ongoing demand for people to fill the roles.
Why are you here?
Entering the locum world is much easier if you have a plan – just as is the case with any other career move. Identify the reasons that you’ve chosen to pursue a locum role as part of your career – are you looking for flexibility to look after a loved one, do you need a wider breadth of experience, are you looking to boost your income? Set your goals and targets so that you get satisfaction from what you do and your enthusiasm remains constant.
Adapt
There are so many opportunities provided by the locum market and being able to adapt to the situations you’re presented with will enable you to take advantage of them. Open your mind to new specialties, to different locations and to alternative team structures and see where the locum path takes you.
