There are plenty of reasons why the locum tenens career alternative can boost your professional repertoire. Practicing in a variety of clinical settings alongside a plethora of coworkers empowers you to build a strong curriculum vitae.
Mobile opportunities also enable you to witness how various cultural beliefs influence patients’ attitudes toward healthcare and how those views might affect treatment plans.
Of course, there are plenty of personal benefits to accepting locum tenens contracts, too. You can request positions in dream destinations or maybe use assignments as a means to pursue hobbies. But have you considered using a locum tenens opportunity to bring you closer to family?
It’s not all that unusual for parents to live long distances from adult children and grandchildren these days. It’s also pretty commonplace for extended family members—cousins, aunts, uncles—to have many miles between them. These kinds of circumstances often require tapping vacation time to travel to a reunion or wedding. Indeed, according to the AARP report, Travel Research: 2015 Boomer Travel Trends, more than half of the Baby Boomers who plan to travel this year intend to use the trip to visit family and friends.
But before you book your next vacation to make an appearance at a family gathering, spend time with the grandkids, or reconnect with long-distance friends, consider using the occasion to accept a locum tenens opportunity.
Here are a few of the reasons why the two events complement each other so well.
A working vacation
If you know you’re going to be traveling to see family or friends, why not earn an income at the same time? Conversely, if you want to experience locum tenens, ask your consultant to find a contract at a facility located near relatives you wish to see. Being around familiar faces can ease the transition of being away from home.
Extend your stay
Sometimes a long weekend or a week’s vacation with loved ones ends up being just a tease—never enough time to see everyone and do everything. If you accept a short-term contract, you can schedule more time with your relatives and friends because you’ll be in town for a few weeks or months, depending on the contract specifics. Of course, you won’t be on duty the entire time, so days off are free to casually spend with loved ones.
Schedule around an occasion
Do you have a special family get-together coming up, like a multi-generational reunion or graduation? Do you want to be with grown children during the holidays? Maybe you have a new grandchild on the way. Turn the occasion into a locum tenens assignment so you can be in town for the days leading up to it and/or afterwards. Perhaps the contract timing will allow you to arrive beforehand to help with the planning, or tack on a few days after the event so you can relax with loved ones a bit longer. This calendar cushion might prove particularly advantageous if baby-on-the-way has his or her own timetable.
Save on expenses
Not only are you compensated for your service while on duty, but your travel and living expenses are covered, too. So instead of dishing out cash for airfare, hotels, and rental cars, spend it on the grandchildren.
Your own space
Additionally, you’ll be able to kick back in your own apartment or hotel accommodations where you can catch a little “me” time or won’t feel like you’re imposing on others’ hospitality. This is especially convenient if a spouse or immediate family members will join you.
Because of the scheduling flexibility inherent to the locum tenens career alternative, getting reacquainted with out-of-town family and friends is not only possible, but it presents opportunities to find professional satisfaction at the same time.
