The Employment Options For A Locum Doctor

By Author: Mary Porter
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Many medical establishments will use a locum doctor as and when they are needed. A locum doctor will tend to be hired from locum agencies that will have a number of doctors and other medical staff on their books for people to hire. A locum doctor will be fully qualified and may also have a specialist area that they work in. Some locum doctor’s will only work in GP surgeries and other will be based in hospitals settings. A locum doctor can work for both the NHS and private medical companies and their work will be varied. Some locum doctors will get long term contracts and others may work in different settings every few days or few weeks.

As well as a locum doctor being hired to work in GP surgeries or hospitals they may also be employed to work in prisons, the ministry of defence, private organisations and for forensic work. Locum agencies will be able to supply a locum doctor that can work in any of these settings to fulfil a wide range of client’s requirements. Often a locum doctor will be taken on to cover holidays ...
... or sickness and at extremely busy periods when more doctors are required. In the UK locum agencies have a high demand for a locum doctor and it is thought that around 10,000 locum doctors can be working each day within a variety of healthcare settings. Most locum agencies will need to be approved by the NHS in order for them to supply a locum doctor to an NHS workplace. This ensures high quality doctors are employed who understand NHS guidelines and working practices.

Lots of newly qualified doctors will look for work as a locum doctor while they are looking for permanent job opportunities. Some doctors will prefer to only do locum work and will not want a full time position in one place. A locum doctor tends to be paid more than doctor on a fixed contract but the work is not guaranteed and they will not receive holiday pay or any other benefits that they would if they were employed full time. Being a locum doctor does give you the opportunity to gain lots of experience and work in many different healthcare settings and this can be good for new doctors to gain lots of experience and help them to decide where they would most like to work.