Any Medical Professionals with Locum Tenens Experience?

[APBioSpartan]

Hello!

Wanted to see if there were any Medical mustachian professionals with experience doing locum tenans work.  My wife (a PA) and I are looking to move to Colorado, but it's hard for her to find an employer that is willing to change all of her licensing over.  She was contacted about a 4-month contractor position that would pay for her licensing switch, but short-term employment makes me feel uneasy.  Does anyone have experience with how the process has gone before and if getting a license in the state that she wishes to practice in makes the job hunt easier?  For reference, she is a 25yo Cancer Care PA that has been in the field for about a year now. 

Thanks,
-APBS

[fuzzy math]

I'very done Locum Tenens directly though the owner of the local contract... My experience doesn't directly relate to yours as it was in my own state and I didn't have to obtain extra licensure. I am in a different field too, and my licensure tends to be a joke. Do you have to pass boards in every state you want to be licensed in? I can't imagine that the boards would be so expensive (hopefully under $1000 after all is said and done), that it would deter you from getting licensed on your own and just taking a full time job. Are you wanting to do it temporarily just in case you don't like CO? Given how the population is growing there, I can't imagine it would be tough for you to find full time employment in your field when your assignment is up. One thing to note, many hospitals won't extend your contract, they will force you to become a regular employee because it's much cheaper for them (travelers make so much more money than regular peeps). So it seems you'd be able to keep your same assignment if you were willing to sign on permanently. Otherwise you might get the boot.

[fuzzy math]

Also due to the healthcare shortage, most employers are willing to wait for a person to get licensure. I've worked with PAs who basically watched people (extended orientation) for months until their licensure, and then afterwards their hospital privileges came through. So I'd say as long as your wife's specialty isn't over saturated she'd probably do just fine. Obviously a local candidate with licensure is preferable, but they tend to be unicorns...

[APBioSpartan]

I think that the process of getting a license in another state really just requires her already passed boards, an application, a fee (covered by employer), and a waiting period depending on the state.  We currently live in NC, but are not set on buying a home here.  Our hope is to move out to CO for a few years, try it out, and move back to NC if we don't completely fall in love.  However, we're huge outdoorsy/mountain people so I'm sure that that won't be a problem :)

As far as a the contract position is concerned, it's not our ideal choice.  Ideally, she would be able to take a perm position somewhere.  However, from our limited experience (~2 months of applications), there appears to be a TON of competition as CO is popular and growing.  She's still applying for perm positions, but this locum tenen position presented itself as an opportunity and I was curious if anyone knew whether or not getting her license through a contract position would help?  For what it's worth, I'm a full-time telecommuter so we do have some location flexibility. 

[fuzzy math]

I would say her low level of experience is probably the larger factor rather than not having licensure. If she had 15 yrs experience, it would be much easier to get a call back from an employer. At 1 yr experience, many would probably consider that a PA might need to be entirely retrained at the new job.

I'd use the locums group to move you and get her licensure. Being local and with a license is going to help overcome her relative lack of experience. It may also be beneficial to consider a different specialty if getting to CO is the ultimate option. She could always switch back to cancer care once settled and local.

[DirtDiva]

I'd use the locums group to move you and get her licensure. Being local and with a license is going to help overcome her relative lack of experience. It may also be beneficial to consider a different specialty if getting to CO is the ultimate option. She could always switch back to cancer care once settled and local.

Agree that having a CO address and a state license would be factors in her favor as she applies for jobs.


I am an oncology PA in Colorado (small practice, unfortunately no openings).  It seems like the options are:

1.  Keep looking and applying until something works out.  PA's with oncology experience are not that common.   It took me 2 years to find the exact job and location I wanted- but I was very picky about location and I have 28 years of PA experience (16 oncology).

2.  Take a risk- take the 4-month job.  Rent a month-to-month apartment.  Leave your stuff in NC in storage, or keep your current home in NC while you're trying it out in CO.  Worst case scenario, you move back to NC when the job is over.  Best case, she has a permanent job offer by the time the short-term gig is up.

3.  Take a non-oncology job.  If she is like me, this is not ideal, and it might not work out very well.  Hard to say if this is riskier than taking a 4-month locums gig.

[APBioSpartan]

I'd use the locums group to move you and get her licensure. Being local and with a license is going to help overcome her relative lack of experience. It may also be beneficial to consider a different specialty if getting to CO is the ultimate option. She could always switch back to cancer care once settled and local.

Agree that having a CO address and a state license would be factors in her favor as she applies for jobs.


I am an oncology PA in Colorado (small practice, unfortunately no openings).  It seems like the options are:

1.  Keep looking and applying until something works out.  PA's with oncology experience are not that common.   It took me 2 years to find the exact job and location I wanted- but I was very picky about location and I have 28 years of PA experience (16 oncology).

2.  Take a risk- take the 4-month job.  Rent a month-to-month apartment.  Leave your stuff in NC in storage, or keep your current home in NC while you're trying it out in CO.  Worst case scenario, you move back to NC when the job is over.  Best case, she has a permanent job offer by the time the short-term gig is up.

3.  Take a non-oncology job.  If she is like me, this is not ideal, and it might not work out very well.  Hard to say if this is riskier than taking a 4-month locums gig.

Thank you for the response!

We currently rent in NC, so it would be easy for us to sell all of our second hand and/or cheap furniture and take our dog with us out west.   If she quits her job here for a contract, it may be hard to come back.  Ironically, one of the reasons that we are hesitant to buy a house here in NC is because the city that we are in has a rather stale job market that doesn't leave us with many choices.  She also isn't set on Oncology, but would actually prefer a rural and under-served Spanish speaking clinic or family med.  Guess we'll keep applying and wait for something to work out :)

[DirtDiva]

Best of luck!  Be patient and keep an eye out, eventually the right job  will come along.