Kathy Edgington  |  Marketing Consultant
(877) 456-2867 x4261  |  kedgington@deltalocums.com

It’s that time of the year again when clients begin calling in, requesting holiday coverage for their facilities.  Naturally, that is a big selling point for locums: to cover holidays.  In my experience with securing coverage for clients during this time, I’ve learned a few things I’d like to share…

“When do I need to call Delta for holiday coverage?” 
It’s never too early to lock down a locums physician for your site.  Of course, I’m not talking about calling right now for July 4th coverage in 2009, but waiting until Dec. 1 to figure out Christmas coverage may not be the best idea.  Locum doctors tend to book out way in advance simply to guarantee work for themselves.  I would do the same.  I’ve had a client call me in August to locate coverage for late December.  There will be employed doctors that procrastinate getting their holiday plans to their managers, throwing a wrench into the schedules when they finally submit their requests for time off.  However, plan ahead as much as you possibly can.  That way you might not run into the potential solution of paying more…keep reading…

“What do I pay for holiday coverage?”
Keeping the above advice in mind…the closer it gets to the holiday you’re needing coverage for, the more the client may need to ‘sweeten the deal’.  In other words, clients calling in too late OR not having any luck getting a commitment from a candidate might consider this…agree to pay the locums physician the holiday rate for the entire holiday weekend, week, or just a few extra days surrounding the actual holiday.  For example:  Thanksgiving is only one day, and possibly the only day the facility recognizes as a true holiday…not the Friday after, or the weekend following.  However, agreeing to pay the holiday rate for the Friday and even weekend after Thanksgiving will catch the attention of more locum doctors. 

Think about what you typically do for Thanksgiving or any holiday that is near a weekend…I spend through the whole weekend with my family.  Taking a physician out of his own family celebration and placing him in an unfamiliar community amongst strangers is tough.  Money talks…something to think about.