Top 10 Questions About Locum Tenens Government Jobs Answered
People choose medicine as their profession for a variety of reasons, but it often starts with a desire to make a significant difference in other peoples lives.
So, what if you had the chance to make a difference for those who lay it all on the line for our country, or others who might need more help than your average patient?
Locum tenens government jobs give physicians and advanced practitioners the chance to care for these types of individuals while meeting their own professional and personal goals.
Brian Walker, Staff Cares director of government services, recently addressed the most common questions about these temporary government assignments, explaining how they are similar to other locum tenens jobsand how they are different.
Answers To 10 Common Questions About Locum Tenens Government Jobs
1. Where are locum government jobs located?
Locum tenens government jobs may include working for any of the following:
- Department of Defense facilities, primarily on military bases serving active military personnel and their families, including the U.S. Navy, Marines, Army or Air Force
- Veterans Affairs facilities, including VA hospitals and clinics
- Indian Health Service facilities, which are often in rural areas
- Facilities under the jurisdiction of federal or state bureaus of corrections
- Other state facilities including behavioral health hospitals
2. What medical specialties are in demand for locum tenens government jobs?
3. How long do locums government assignments last?
What Makes A Good Locum Tenens Physician
Locums work requires physicians who have a certain amount of flexibility and willingness to adapt to new systems. Each new facility you enter has a different set of rules and a different established social climate and culture.
Traits of a successful locum tenens physician include:
- Timeliness for all assignments.
- Ability to act on your feet and remain flexible to new situations.
- Docility when working with new teams and managers.
- No outstanding claims or lapses in certifications that may make it hard to get licensed in new states.
Can Locums Be A Full
More than 90 percent of U.S. facilities use locum tenens. There are plenty of opportunities for locum tenens work in every kind of facility big and small, rural and urban, government and private. With growing demand for physicians, its easy to make a full-time career solely out of locum tenens jobs.
In the U.S., the physician shortage will reach an estimated deficit of over 100,000 physicians by the year 2030. Coupled with our aging population and changes in the healthcare system, many facilities are left without adequate coverage, and that will continue to be a problem for years to come. These facilities turn to locum tenens physicians to help fill those gaps.
Locum tenens doesnt require you to be mobile. You can often find contract work in the area where you live. If variety is more your speed, locums gives you the opportunity to travel while your lodging and travel expenses are covered.
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Adventure Awaits With Exciting Locum Tenens Assignments
Locum tenens is a Latin term meaning to hold the place of. Hospitals, group practices, government facilities, community health centers, and outpatient facilities all rely on locum tenens physicians and advanced practice healthcare practitioners to keep fully-staffed in times of shortages. Breathe new life into your MD, DO, PA, CRNA, NP or other healthcare career by choosing locum tenens assignments in locations in all 50 states.
Physicians and other healthcare workers choose locum tenens assignments for many reasons. Some simply enjoy gaining exciting opportunities to travel, some like being able to earn some extra income, and others just want to gain the experience. Locum Jobs Online only posts fresh jobs with the most trusted agencies throughout the country. Use our job resources to find yourself the ultimate travel physician job. We take all the footwork out of finding locum tenens jobs because tools like agency reviews, recruiter profiles, and FAQs help you make the best decision for you.
Pack your bags for your next big locum tenens adventure!
Interim Physicians Exclusive Partnership With A California Government Agency Delivers Multi

For a state facility trying to improve delivery of care, filling schedule gaps through multiple locum tenens agencies became overwhelming and inefficient. Interim Physicians, working with the facility, devised a streamlined solution.
One government hospital in a California county found that establishing an exclusive contract with Interim Physicians resulted in higher quality doctors, consistent bill rates, satisfied providers, and dependable inpatient and outpatient staffing.
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Why Should I Work Locums And Why Is It Growing In Popularity
- Why should I work locums and why is it growing in popularity?Physicians work locum tenens jobs for a multitude of reasons, from paying back student loan debts to keeping skills fresh.
But here are the most common profiles we see of successful full-time locums physicians:
- Humanitarians who want to help underserved areas who need them most.
- Mission workers who need a flexible schedule that allows them to volunteer overseas.
- Retirees who have closed their permanent practices but want to continue to work.
- Patient advocates who want to spend more time with patients and less on paperwork and other bureaucratic duties.
- Explorers who enjoy traveling, meeting new people and experiencing new practices.
- Multi-talents who need time to pursue their other passions.
More and more, physicians are seeing the benefits of the locums lifestyle. Your skills are in demand. Locum tenens gives you an abundance of available opportunities, but also allows you to be selective about which assignments you take.
What Should I Know About Locum Tenens Taxes
As a locums physician, youll need to fill out a 1099 form with any facility youve worked with over the year. This makes filing taxes a little different than it would be for a physician with a standard W-2.
The best way to tackle taxes is to find a trusted accountant who you can rely on throughout the year. This person needs to be a certified public accountant, licensed attorney or enrolled agent who can show you a Preparer Tax Identification Number and membership in the National Association of Tax Professionals.
Because youre not paying income taxes throughout the year, youll need to set aside roughly 40% of your income to pay come tax time. You can also submit quarterly estimates to the IRS to help minimize that year-end payment.
The good news is that many of your locums-related expenses such as housing and travel not covered by your agency, continued education, equipment, etc. can count as itemized deductions. Additionally, remember to save for retirement as a self-employed physician.
Ready to make the switch to locum tenens? Jackson + Coker recruiters can coach you through the process to get started with no cost or commitment to you. Well find you the right opportunities, so that you can have the physician lifestyle youve been seeking.
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A Locum Agency For Clinicians
Our dedicated government team members are ready to find you the perfect government job. Each recruiter at LocumTenens.com goes through extensive training and focuses on only one medical specialty. Your LocumTenens.com recruiter can offer you the personalized service and attention you deserve. They will handle all the time-consuming details of working as an independent contractor and the business aspects of practicing medicine, so you can focus on patients.
Independence Exploration And Adventure Await
From the philosophical to the financial, the reasons physicians and advanced practitioners cite for working locums are nearly as varied as the number of medical specialties practiced today. Here are some of the most common reasons for choosing to live the locum lifestyle:
Work/life balance and career flexibilityWorking locum tenens gives you space to breathe and enjoy a higher quality of life. It also lets you balance your work life with your family life, because you get to choose when you work and where you work. Whether youre looking to spend more time with your kids, step back from work but not fully retire or enjoy lifes other pursuits, locum tenens could be a great fit.
Trying out a new position before committing to anything permanentLocum tenens allows you to gain hands-on experience in a given position, helping you to make a more informed decision about whether a position is a good fit and a sound permanent choice.
Traveling and exploring new destinationsThe need for locum tenens physicians and advanced practitioners can be found across the country in rural and urban settings and everywhere in between, which means there are plenty of opportunities to experience new places or get reacquainted with familiar ones. Locum tenens providers often enjoy this exploration without spending a dime, as travel and housing are typically provided by the contracting facility.
In longer term scenarios, healthcare providers experience additional benefits including:
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Optimizing Patient Care With Exclusivity
This county facility provides essential healthcare to the state facilitys patient population both at the hospital and during aftercare in surrounding outpatient clinics.
Initially, the client engaged three locum tenens agencies, including Interim Physicians, to cover their psychiatric and internal medicine staffing needs.
The state facility later determined that it would be better served by moving to an exclusive locum tenens staffing model with a single agency. Interim Physicians won the request for proposal bid over two existing agencies and dozens of others who bid, in no small part because of the excellent performance over the years in managing staff and based upon positive feedback from providers and hospital leadership.
Our partnership with the client grew steadily as we streamlined the locum tenens model in two stages by:
What Should I Know About Locum Tenens Agencies
Choosing to work with a locum tenens agency is all about finding a recruiter who you trust and with whom you feel comfortable. A recruiter should show you that he or she is interested in getting to know you at a more personal level beyond your CV. Matching you with the right jobs will require balancing out your wants, skills, experience and values.
Ask about the companys placement process. Make sure youre not getting involved with someone who will present your CV to a facility without running the job by you first. Ask about the medical malpractice insurance policy it should be top-rated by an independent evaluation company.
Discuss with your recruiter how many patients youre willing to see in a day, locations you like , your expertise and the types of practice settings you enjoy.
Your recruiter is there to serve you and help you find locums opportunities that are the right fit, so that both you and the facility will succeed. Your recruiter or consultant should be your advocate, able to negotiate contracts for you and be reached 24/7 in case problems or concerns arise while youre on an assignment.
Checklist for Working With Locums Agencies:
- Experience with locums recruiting and specifically your specialty.
- Membership in the National Association of Locum Tenens Organization, whose members agree to abide by a code of ethics.
- Malpractice insurance coverage that is top-rated.
- Direct deposit and weekly pay for your assignments.
- Travel and lodging covered.
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A Little About Medical Search
Medical Search is a premier search firm for the health care industry that specializes in temporary or Locum Tenens staffing and permanent placement of physicians and other healthcare professionals. We offer clients and candidates services that promote excellence in healthcare by redefining the recruitment process.
At Medical Search we are dedicated to using multiple resources and methods to promote our candidates and locate the ideal opportunity that each healthcare provider may be looking for. Our criteria based matching system is designed to create a perfect fit and allows us to retain both clients and physicians while building long term relationships.
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A Locum Agency For Facilities
Our dedicated government team members are ready to find you the perfect physician or advanced practitioner. Each recruiter at LocumTenens.com goes through extensive training and focuses on only one medical specialty. This niche focus allows us to offer you specialty-based sales and a professional recruiter who understands the clinical nuances of your medical organization, your dynamic scheduling challenges and the time-consuming details of contracting for locum tenens services.
In addition to working with a dedicated government recruiter, you will also work with our coordinating team members who manage all the logistics involved with getting the physician or CRNA to your facility to start work on time, including:
- Credentialing and state medical licensing assistance
- Medical malpractice insurance coverage
Help me find a clinician
Benefits Of Locum Tenens: The Journey Of Locum Tenens Psychiatrist Dr Fred Moss
Psychiatrist Dr. Fred Moss was ready to give up on medicine. The high overhead costs of running his own practice, funds tied up in collections and inability to reach patients who werent near his physical location these all left Dr. Moss fed up with being a physician.
As a kid, he knew he had a gift for being a great listener and helping his peers solve their problems. He got into medicine to help people and found that locum tenens gave him the opportunity to reach more patients. By traveling to where help is needed most and taking advantage of telehealth opportunities, Dr. Moss is making a bigger impact than ever before.
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Proudly Serving Those Who Serve
ICON Medical Network is proud to support the health and wellness of our Veteran and active service members, as well as the underserved Native-American population. Enjoy the flexibility of a locum tenens lifestyle and the reward of giving back to communities in need by providing much-needed health care to these unique patient populations.
Benefits of Working Government Assignments
- Providing healthcare to underserved, unique patient demographic
- Long-term assignments providing you with a steady revenue stream
- Work with ANY State license
- Complimentary Malpractice Coverage
Locum Government Physician Jobs
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Sacramento, CA 95823 $233 – $245 an hourLocum tenens10 hour shift +1 - This facility is seeking an Anesthesiology Physician for locum tenens support as they look to fill a current need.
Estimated $137K – $174K a yearLocum tenens |
Remote in Brookfield, WI 53045Full-time +2 |
Full-time +2 |
Easily apply |
Estimated $206K – $261K a yearContract +2 |
Weekend availability |
Easily apply |
Locum tenens |
Easily apply |
Contract +2 |
Easily apply |
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Federal Locum Tenen Physician Jobs
relevancedate
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Albuquerque, NM 87106 Full-time +2 - **This is a locumtenens, part-time position.
- Under indirect supervision, provides and manages direct medical evaluation, diagnosis, procedures, and care for
Temporarily Remote in East Orange, NJ 07018$300,000 – $330,000 a yearFull-time +1Monday to Friday +2 |
Full-time +1Monday to Friday +1 |
Bloomington, MN 55425Full-time |
Las Vegas, NV 89106 Locum tenens |
Jemez Pueblo, NM 87024Full-time +1 |
West Bloomfield Township, MI 48322 |
Portland, OR 97227 Locum tenens |