I’ve personally worked as a locum in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. I did so before I took a permanent job, in between jobs, and even on my “vacations” when I had debts to pay. I detailed those experiences in a guest post at the White Coat Investor.
Freedom is something I write about a fair amount. An oft-used synonym for FinancialIndependence is Financial Freedom. Choosing to work as a locum gives you a whole lot of freedom, a freedom that can be gained without choosing to retire.
– 2 Years of FIRE: Life After an Early Exit From Medicine
As a locums doc, you can choose to work as little or as much as you like. You can work in major metropoles or podunk mountain towns. You can make like a teacher and have summers off to enjoy the sunshine or take the winters off to escape the cold or embrace it as a ski bum.
Freedom can come with a hidden cost, the lack of job stability. You know the tablecloth trick, the one where you pull the tablecloth out really fast, and usually the dishes all stay put? But sometimes they don’t?
Several times, I’ve had the tablecloth pulled out once I had fully set the table, signed a contract, and even started working a locum tenens assignment. Your temporary employer usually retains the rights to cancel a job on short notice, a factor to consider when you negotiate a contract via a healthcare staffing agency or independently.
The first time it happened to me, the dishes nearly crashed hard. I was told by the locum tenens agency on very short notice that my agency had a malpractice insurance lapse, and that I wouldn’t be able to work for at least a couple of weeks.