Locum employment is often seen as a short-term solution. Since workers can set their schedule based on their desires or preferred outcomes, it could be seen as a high turnover way to maintain staffing.
The other side of that perspective is the ability to maintain expertise levels by promoting the long-term benefits of experienced temporary staff joining a facility's team.
If you're considering locum workers, here are some of the advantages that often come with that decision.
1. Build Skill Diversity
Bringing in locum workers exposes your team to different skill sets and practices. Each person brings a unique perspective, clinical experience, and specialized expertise that can be valuable to your patients and permanent staff.
Locums must be proactive about keeping their skills and certifications up-to-date to remain employable across different settings. They may bring new protocols or technologies they've recently learned, which can help update your team's skill set for long-term success.
2. Reduced Burnout
Healthcare is a demanding field. Staff burnout is a genuine concern affecting productivity and patient care quality.
- A 2021 study by Medscape found that 42% of physicians reported feeling burned out. That figure is above 50% now.
- Healthcare burnout deliver added costs of $4.6 billion annually.
- A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that burnout was strongly correlated with depression, affecting 25-50% of those experiencing it.
- Work published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that female physicians are 1.6 times more likely to experience burnout than their male counterparts.
Having locum workers in the mix allows for workload distribution, reducing the stress on your permanent staff.
3. Standard of Care
Locum workers provide the same standard of care as permanent staff members. The healthcare industry requires everyone to meet stringent qualifications to earn their licensing and credentials. That includes specific educational requirements, knowledge testing, and documented skill development.
All workers are continually assessed to ensure they provide high-quality patient services. Even though new locums might come into a facility consistently, everyone still works from the same playbook.
4. Trial Periods
Before committing to a full-time employee, locum work can be an extended interview or protocol standard. This period allows you to assess how well the individual or new position fits your team and culture without the long-term commitment.
This advantage in rural or underserved areas ensures that the community's needs are met without extensive onboarding costs or time investments. Medical facilities can bring someone in and get them to work immediately.
5. Business Continuity
A locum worker can ensure your facility operations run smoothly in unforeseen circumstances. They can fill in specific gaps when permanent staff are unavailable, ensuring service levels remain appropriate. The long-term availability of this option delivers more flexibility in staffing when a critical employee quits or an emergency occurs.
6. Simplified Hiring
Staffing agencies and platforms like ProLocums can make hiring these workers streamlined and efficient. They take care of all the administrative work, like background checks, licensure verifications, and scheduling, leaving you more time to focus on patient care.
Long-term benefits are possible when staffing through locums occurs. Each situation is unique, which is why working with an experienced platform is helpful for those initial efforts. In return, your patients benefit because they receive the experienced care need.
