Locum tenens jobs are one way that physicians can travel about the country and continue to work when they choose.  Locum tenens jobs are those that are temporary in nature.  Hospitals and other smaller medical facilities often have a need for doctors to fill in when other personnel need time off.  Medical facilities use locum tenens companies to list these locum tenens jobs in order to fill their physician staffing needs.

There are many reasons why a hospital or medical office might need to undertake physician recruiting.  Anytime a physician who is a full-time employee at the facility needs some time off, there is a gap in coverage.  Because the hospital cannot bill if medical procedures are not performed, it makes sense that they will do physician recruiting in order to fill in the time when the full-time physician is gone.

Physicians working these locum tenens jobs are filling a vital need.  Not only are they making sure that excellent care for patients is always available at the medical facility, but at the same they are helping the hospital or medical office stay in the black in terms of income generation.

Locum tenens companies are the ones that medical offices turn to when they need to perform physician recruiting.  This makes it easy for physicians to find the specific types of temporary jobs that they want.  The physician staffing service will collect in a database all of the temporary and permanent positions that are currently available, and then a physician has only one place to search for this type of employment, thus saving time and energy in the job search.

It is a simple matter to obtain a customized listing of suitable jobs from locum tenens companies.  A physician needs to submit, via a secure website, his or her contact information, areas of specialization, as well as the dates you wish to work and your curriculum vitae.  
You can choose to work in a different part of the country, so you can explore when you are not working, for example.  Also, temporary jobs offer you a great opportunity to meet the staff of the medical office, and it lets them get to know you as well.  Sometimes temporary jobs are first offered, and then if it appears a physician is a good fit for the facility, a permanent position might be offered as part of their physician recruiting.  There are no guarantees that this will happen, and you are under no obligation to accept such an offer, but it sometimes is a possibility.

Contact a physician staffing service to find out more about locum tenens positions.