Did you get your locums call today?

[Shufflin]

About the fifth locums tenens company has contacted me since the start of the new year desperately looking for a psychiatrist. It seems daily now. Are all the psychiatrists taken and there's no more to go around like a bad episode of Blind Connection? Anyone else getting the locums love?

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[wolfvgang22]

Yes, every day for the past 5 years, when I graduated fellowship. It is more during the holidays.

 

[futuredo32]

Calls, emails and texts. I am actually doing a short term weekends one for kids which is not really a population I feel comfortable with but the hospitals entire psych team just up and left and they have no one. It's consult in the ER and if there was a suicide attempt I always err on the side of caution and admit. I love weekend moonlighting- at least the checks . And I am only there until they get a new group of psychiatrists so I will make a little extra to pay my taxes and help the hospital at the same time. I have a second weekend locums job once a month for adults. I wish it were every weekend- I could just work weekends and have 5 days off every week. I don't mind the calls, I don't answer the phone but do call back if its something I like.

 

[nitemagi]

I get fewer calls these days. Lots of emails, linkedin messages, and mailers.

 

[futuredo32]

Pgy3 here thinking about locums in a year or so... What are rates looking like for you guys?

Depends on job and area.

 

[jbomba]

Depends on job and area.

Willing to travel to highest paying regions. What's the ceiling looking like?

 

[futuredo32]

Willing to travel to highest paying regions. What's the ceiling looking like?

If you will go to Alaska or Nebraska I've seen 350k.

 

[jbomba]

If you will go to Alaska or Nebraska I've seen 350k.

I could get that here in California or doing telepsych...

 

[futuredo32]

I could get that here in California or doing telepsych...

I'm sure you could. California is expensive. I'm guessing NYC pays well too. The best I have seen for telepsych is 165 an hour.

 

[Mad Jack]

Psychiatrist - $567,000/year - Sacramento, CA - Indeed.com

Highest I've seen was for a 1099 3.5 hours outside of Sacramento

 

[Monocles]

Locums is supposed to be pretty lucrative. Even if you only work 40 hours a week, if you get paid $200 (which is pretty low even for a big city like Boston) and work 48 weeks a year (4 weeks off/vacation) it comes out to $384k a year pretax.

 

[splik]

i almost never receive locum/recruiter calls because i am extremely careful with my personal information but when i do, i always respond with "don't you ever contact me again" and then block the number. these are nuisance calls. you are unlikely to be a winner by taking these nuisance calls as anything but a nuisance.

 

[Trismegistus4]

If you will go to Alaska or Nebraska I've seen 350k.

Locums pays by the hour, so it depends on how many hours you work (or how many they'll pay you for.) The highest rates I see advertised right now are $200 per hour, which means you can probably get a bit higher if you negotiate.

splik's post notwithstanding, I plan to do another stint of locums after leaving my current job and don't plan on accepting less than $200 per hour (unless it were a really sweet gig, e.g., extremely light workload.)

 

[Bwright007]

Being a recruiter what are some pointers that you all suggest I do when looking for the best of the best out there? I'm no head hunter or desperately looking, but it is my job to find good providers and usually the good ones are aggravated with calls/texts/emails.

So what method of communication is better for you all?

 

[TexasPhysician]

Being a recruiter what are some pointers that you all suggest I do when looking for the best of the best out there? I'm no head hunter or desperately looking, but it is my job to find good providers and usually the good ones are aggravated with calls/texts/emails.

So what method of communication is better for you all?

Generalizing:
Recruiters get paid by employers for locating willing physicians. When they get a job to fill, they spam every contact across the globe in that specialty and sometimes related specialties. Spam is a waste of time, so I block the recruiter or send them on a wild goose chase if particularly upsetting.

Recruiters don’t get to know me or the jobs I would entertain. They don’t listen or try to find opportunities that fit me. The 1 recruiter that did listen asked me to fill out and sign a bunch of documents before ever making an effort.

There are probably a few docs that are sitting around, dwiddling thumbs, and waiting to make some recruiters day. The rest of us can be as picky as we want because opportunities are everywhere.

A recruiter wanting to make this a great career would do well in the long-term by finding jobs that are a good fit for their individual docs after building a relationship.

 

[Bwright007]

Extremely helpful! Thank you.

I have also spoken with numerous physicians who say the exact same thing. Unfortunately there are tons of bad recruiters out there and providers as well. I definitely agree that it is essential to understand the provider on a more personal level before even sending documents or jobs.

 

[ridethecliche]

Extremely helpful! Thank you.

I have also spoken with numerous physicians who say the exact same thing. Unfortunately there are tons of bad recruiters out there and providers as well. I definitely agree that it is essential to understand the provider on a more personal level before even sending documents or jobs.

Are you actually a resident? If not, please change your info.

 

[Bwright007]

Are you actually a resident? If not, please change your info.

I did not realize my profile stated I was in Residency.

Thanks! Changed!

 

[Ironspy]

Generalizing:
Recruiters get paid by employers for locating willing physicians. When they get a job to fill, they spam every contact across the globe in that specialty and sometimes related specialties. Spam is a waste of time, so I block the recruiter or send them on a wild goose chase if particularly upsetting.

Recruiters don’t get to know me or the jobs I would entertain. They don’t listen or try to find opportunities that fit me. The 1 recruiter that did listen asked me to fill out and sign a bunch of documents before ever making an effort.

There are probably a few docs that are sitting around, dwiddling thumbs, and waiting to make some recruiters day. The rest of us can be as picky as we want because opportunities are everywhere.

A recruiter wanting to make this a great career would do well in the long-term by finding jobs that are a good fit for their individual docs after building a relationship.

This is exactly it. Recruiters work for employers not physicians. They are a nuisance because they don't GAF about my preferences or hesitate to waste my time. They add value to employers at the expense of physicians. No thanks.

 

[Bwright007]

Understood. How do you distinguish a good recruiter from a bad one looking to waste your time?

What characteristics or traits do you look for?

 

[MedMan80]

The best recruiter I had actually spoke to me, on phone/email and listened to what I needed. He listened when there were opportunities that didn't work out and asked why those opportunities didn't suit my needs, I got him from a friend who recommended him. The rest spam/call/don't care and so I would never trust them to place me in ap place of employment. Also you should never leverage a physicians desperation, "you may not find a job on time", "your visa may expire". In psychiatry we are well aware that the need/demand is extremely large and so know that most of those threats are empty/pitiful.

 

[Bwright007]

Thank you. This was extremely helpful!

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

I have never contacted a recruiting company so I've never received a call, though somehow my wife has. I do however have a poo ton of emails I delete daily regarding this

 

[Ahamis]

Thank you. This was extremely helpful!

I have contacted many recruiters in the past.
It annoys me the very superficial description of the job in the emails.
I can’t stop my day to call the recruiter for every email I get. If the descriptions were a little bit more informative it would help me to screen the emails.

And then when you finally call the recruiter he/she doesn’t know basic information of the position.

 

[Trismegistus4]

I have contacted many recruiters in the past.
It annoys me the very superficial description of the job in the emails.
I can’t stop my day to call the recruiter for every email I get. If the descriptions were a little bit more informative it would help me to screen the emails.

And then when you finally call the recruiter he/she doesn’t know basic information of the position.

These recruiters are not doctors, so they don't "speak the language." It's inevitable that some of the info they send us doesn't make any sense, like when the description says it's an inpatient position, but then also says "1 hour new evals, 30 minutes for follow-ups."

My favorite is when they are clearly passing on an unedited blurb send to them directly by the facility itself, without catching some of the things the person who sent it clearly intended to be touched up. For example, I got one recently where one of the bullet points said the annual bonus would be paid based on, among other things, "being a good person." That was a hoot. I wanted to call them up and say "I'm interested in this job, but the bonus is very important to me. Can you tell me more about how my goodness as a person will be judged?"