With the medical staffing shortage reaching historic highs, it may make sense for your healthcare facility to turn to locum tenens providers to bridge the gap. Locum tenens doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners can be a great asset to your facility to fulfill short-term or long-term needs. Nearly 90 percent of U.S. healthcare organizations have employed locum tenens services at least once in the last decade. Locum tenens providers offer significant value and can be utilized to take pressure off your facility.

Even with the multiple benefits of hiring locum tenens providers, misconceptions still exist. Just as many physicians have not explored becoming a locum tenens provider due to these misconceptions, some facilities have been hesitant to seek help through temporary staffing solutions. There are many false myths associated with hiring locum tenens employees. If any of the below points have kept your facility from hiring locum tenens, now is an excellent time to reconsider.

Myth #1: Locum tenens means lesser quality physicians

Locum tenens providers are every bit as qualified and talented as their full-time counterparts. With the popularity of the locum tenens lifestyle rapidly growing, the talent pool has only become more substantial in recent years. High-quality physicians are choosing to travel more and not be tied down by a permanent position.

Locum tenens providers offer expertise and skills from many different experiences gained through the nature of their work. With their diverse insights, they can possibly provide your current staff with new information about best practices and advanced technologies.

Myth #2: It’s too expensive

Extremely high cost may be the biggest myth surrounding locum tenens providers. If locum tenens staffing were too expensive, this segment of the healthcare workforce wouldn’t be gaining extreme popularity nationwide as it has in the past 10 years.

The typical day rate of a temporary provider may cost more than a permanent salaried position on a per diem basis. However, the cost of permanent staff signing bonuses, benefits, malpractice insurance and other expenses adds tens of thousands of dollars to the practice’s bottom line. These are expenses that are covered by your staffing agency when you hire locum tenens providers. That’s not even considering the cost of lost revenue to your practice and the stress to your own staff when you are understaffed.

To understand the specific cost comparison of locum vs. permanent clinical staffing, sit down with your staffing agency and look at the numbers. Chances are you’ll find that hiring locum tenens providers is the more cost-effective way to go.

Myth #3: Locum tenens doesn’t work

Many facilities have the misunderstanding that hiring locum tenens providers “doesn’t work.” They imagine a new provider coming into their facilities and constantly struggling for the short amount of time they are there, because they don’t have proper training or enough time to acclimate to the organization. This is where a qualified and trustworthy medical staffing agency comes in.

By working with a locum tenens agency that knows their providers and also has a deep understanding of the climate and overall daily procedures of your facility and the position you need to fill, adding a temporary physician, NP or FP can be a seamless transition. Your agency will make sure that providers they place are fully qualified and briefed on the needs and expectations for your specific opening.

Myth #4: It’s only for specialties

Specialty providers are not the only ones who take vacations or leave. Locum tenens providers with a variety of skills are available to fill a wide range of positions based on need. A primary care facility can utilize temporary staffing just as well as a specialty practice.

Finding locum tenens providers

Locum tenens providers can be a valuable resource when a facility is faced with an open position. Working with a medical staffing agency like TinkBird that has successfully placed countless locum tenens providers is encouraged when choosing locum tenens for the first time. If you would like to learn more about how locum tenens works or need an excellent staffing resource for your organization, contact TinkBird Healthcare Staffing today.