Hospitalist Locum Tenens

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

quiksilver87

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
333
Reaction score
2
For hospitalist locum tenens, I am wondering if anyone contacted the hospitals directly and got very good hourly rates instead of going through a recruiter? Also, I've heard of people getting called to cover dates during times of desperation and being able to negotiate higher rates...Is that true or does it only apply for people who negotiate directly with hospitals as a contractor (without the locum company)?

Would I be able to get better rates if I cold called hospitals and negotiated rates (obviously not the hospitals I am working through the recruiter company due to litigation)?


Btw, I have signed up with a recruiter and they pay 180/hr and 350$ for the entire night to cover pages. Malpractice, car rental, gas and lodging are covered. They are very small hospitals with max beds of 50.

Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
hmm maybe. are you a good negotiator? i have tried and the rate i get was similar to the locum tenens. sometimes worth it but not wroth the head ache, i think with paperwork
 
For hospitalist locum tenens, I am wondering if anyone contacted the hospitals directly and got very good hourly rates instead of going through a recruiter? Also, I've heard of people getting called to cover dates during times of desperation and being able to negotiate higher rates...Is that true or does it only apply for people who negotiate directly with hospitals as a contractor (without the locum company)?

Would I be able to get better rates if I cold called hospitals and negotiated rates (obviously not the hospitals I am working through the recruiter company due to litigation)?


Btw, I have signed up with a recruiter and they pay 180/hr and 350$ for the entire night to cover pages. Malpractice, car rental, gas and lodging are covered. They are very small hospitals with max beds of 50.

180/hr to cover pages? that's it? no admissions? dude, that is a great rate...you should take that.

that being said, you won't be able to talk to any facility that your locums company has presented your name to...unless the hospital is willing to pay a finders fee...usually 10-20k...i doubt they want you that much.

yes you can talk to hospitals and contract with them independently, but make sure that they are going to cover the other expenses that, typically, the locums companies do for you...namely malpractice insurance, but also the cost of credentialing and your medical staff dues.

those desperation times are usually for people who are already credentialed...woudl ask too too much unless you are looking for that to be your last time at that hospital...it can burn a bridge for you to ask a HUGE amount over what you normally get at that hospital.

and if your not going to take the 180/hr for just babysitting...let us know where that hospital that is! :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Haha, thanks for the reply. No, its 180 an hour for the 12 hour day shift. Census is about 15 patients. The 350$ is to cover pages over the entire night.

I understand that I would have to be already credentialed. Just wondering if locum companies will ask you to cover certain dates they are not able to fill and pay more. Or, does this only happen when you directly contract through a hospital?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Haha, thanks for the reply. No, its 180 an hour for the 12 hour day shift. Census is about 15 patients. The 350$ is to cover pages over the entire night.

I understand that I would have to be already credentialed. Just wondering if locum companies will ask you to cover certain dates they are not able to fill and pay more. Or, does this only happen when you directly contract through a hospital?
sorry, i missed the 350/night pages part...still pretty good IMO...
yeah, you can get an increase through the locums company as well...many time they can up things by 20% without asking the hospital...over that they need to talk to them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Haha, thanks for the reply. No, its 180 an hour for the 12 hour day shift. Census is about 15 patients. The 350$ is to cover pages over the entire night.
So, do they not have somebody in-house overnight? What happens to overnight admissions? Or is this $180/h for a shift + $350 to be the night guy/gal?
 
They have a nurse practitioner or PA who is there overnight. I have not worked there yet so I don't have exact details. Yes, 350$ for me to cover the night pager (I believe for my patients only)

Thanks Rokshana
 
Last edited:
Haha, thanks for the reply. No, its 180 an hour for the 12 hour day shift. Census is about 15 patients. The 350$ is to cover pages over the entire night.

I understand that I would have to be already credentialed. Just wondering if locum companies will ask you to cover certain dates they are not able to fill and pay more. Or, does this only happen when you directly contract through a hospital?

The facility might ask the LT company to get you onboard so you can ask for a bonus, which they may or may not be willing to pay. The problem is that there are other locum and permanent hospitalistst in the equation who can agree to work for less that you asked for. So it's kind of unpredictable.

On the other hand, if you work directly with the hospital, you cost them less than somebody placed by a locum agency, hence they will probably offer you to take the shifts first.
 
thats pretty darn good. My situation as a senior resident back in the day was 100/hr + 100 per admission then they changed it to 125/hr + 100 per admit after 6 admits. The locums guys were making a flat 200/hr no additional type of compensation other than hotel/car/meals. I have known people who have gotten higher rates by contacting hospital first hand in certain circumstances but this is no guarantee. The way to increase rate is through longer contracts (6 month commitment etc) or hunting for situation where there is significant need especially around holidays where I have seen typical Hospital rates go from 150-200 to 250-30 because of that need. There is multiple ways to get that increase pay you desire but no, speaking directly will not necessarily guarantee an increase in compensation. Sometimes LT companies are contracted for large hospital system where there is little wiggle room in one market and they can not do much but on a whole increase physician coverage in the high yielding markets. Had friend who does physician recruiting tell me that x hospital in middle of now where may need coverage and they may be willing to take a hit on that market because of the bigger picture where hospital a,b,c are teh big moneymakers. If you try to wiggle contract in hospital x you may be able to wiggle a lot more since its the hardest one to fill but needs filled. If you are going after bigger markets with hospital a,b,c you may have less room because they can fill the spots easier. Also, speciality specific LT can have greater variances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I have known people who have gotten higher rates by contacting hospital first hand in certain circumstances but this is no guarantee. The way to increase rate is through longer contracts (6 month commitment etc) or hunting for situation where there is significant need especially around holidays where I have seen typical Hospital rates go from 150-200 to 250-30 because of that need. There is multiple ways to get that increase pay you desire but no, speaking directly will not necessarily guarantee an increase in compensation.

My experience is similar: by working directly with the hospitals you may or may not get a better rate. However, I've l had good experience with the hospitalist companies. Their recruiters are very proactive and if they really need you, they will pay well. It's also easier to get ahold of them compared to the hospital recruiters.

Rural hospitals are also good candidates for direct negotiation since they are small enough so that you can easily get the recruiter or medical director on the phone. A lot of them are struggling to survive financially so they might be more open to cutting off the middleman (locum agencies) and working with you directly. You might need to have a slightly different skill set to work at the rural hospital though e.g. be more comfortable with ICU, procedures etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I wouldn't cover pages for 12h for $350. That's $30 an hour pre tax and it can get really disruptive. I'd do it until like 0100 or you should ask for more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I wouldn't cover pages for 12h for $350. That's $30 an hour pre tax and it can get really disruptive. I'd do it until like 0100 or you should ask for more.

eh, its about the going rate...it depends on how active the paging is and how complex the calls are...I've done the overnight paging thing to answer pages, but the pages were to be from the overnight residents to discuss their admissions or any urgent issues that required attending level input (though I stressed that it was very ok to call me if they were having an issue) as well as discuss the any admissions on the no teaching service when the NP was on for admissions. Since 1 in every 3 admissions went to the non teaching service, it wasn't that much. I had the resident call me at midnight and at 6 am to discuss the admissions and the NP if there were any issues, otherwise she would just sign out to the morning attending...generally 2 phone calls, lasting 15- 20 mins each...250 for the night...easy peezy...

if the paging is going to be from everyone and their is a great likelihood of staying up through the night, well that's different.
 
Top