2024 Survey of Locum Tenens Physicians and Advanced Practitioners
LOCUM TENENS: A LONGSTANDING TRADITION
This report summarizes results of a survey of physicians and APPs who have worked on a locum tenens basis sometime in the last 18 months. The practice of one physician filling in for another - known as locum tenens (or “to take the place of” in Latin) - is time- honored in the medical profession. Physicians have filled in for colleagues who are ill, travelling, or otherwise away from their practices as a professional courtesy for over 200 years. It was not until the 1970s, however, that the use of locum tenens physicians expanded from limited, ad hoc assignments arranged by physicians themselves to a more broad-based and systematic component of medical staffing. Government grants allotted to make physicians available in medically underserved areas ushered in the modern era of locum tenens staffing. Locum tenens staffing agencies were developed to meet the needs of healthcare facilities seeking to supplement their medical staffs with temporary healthcare professionals. These now include physicians, APPs and other types of healthcare professionals. Today, close to 90% of hospitals, medical groups and other healthcare facilities use locum tenens physicians and APPs, primarily to maintain services while permanent providers are being sought (Survey of Locum Tenens Staffing Trends, AMN Healthcare. 2022) . The widespread use of locum tenens providers underscores the pervasive shortage of healthcare professionals available to fill permanent positions, as well as a need at hospitals and other healthcare facilities for a more flexible staffing option. A PROFILE OF LOCUM TENENS PROVIDERS Why do physicians and APPs choose to work locum tenens – particularly in an era of pervasive provider shortages and burnout? What effect does this choice have on the overall supply of physicians and APPs? How do physicians and APPs compare locum tenens work to permanent practice? What type of physicians and APPs work locum tenens, how many locum tenens assignments do they typically accept, and how far are they willing to travel? Conducted periodically since 2001, the Survey of Locum Tenens Physicians and Advanced Practice Professionals addresses these and related questions while offering a profile of physicians and APPs who work on a locum tenens basis. Survey results may prove useful to healthcare professionals, healthcare administrators, policy makers, journalists and others who follow healthcare professional supply, demand and staffing trends. METHODOLOGY AMN Healthcare’s 2024 Survey of Locum Tenens Physicians and Advanced Practice Professionals was emailed throughout January and February of 2024 to proprietary and third party lists of physicians and APPs known to have worked on a locum tenens basis sometime in the previous 18 months. Healthcare professionals included physicians and APPs who have worked as locum tenens through AMN Healthcare, through other staffing agencies, or on their own. Responses were received from 589 physicians and APPs nationwide. The survey has a margin of error (MOE) of +/- 4%. Responses from several previous years the survey was conducted are included where relevant. The survey was completed and released in April 2024.
© AMN Healthcare 2024
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