Jason Ard  |  Recruiting Representative
(877) 456-2867 x4267  |  jard@deltalocums.com

The locums process can be a little daunting for some physicians who have not experienced the process before. First of all, you have to sift through the mountain of information that is transmitted to you via email, snail mail and good ol’ fashion telephone calls. Then when you do find an attractive offer and a friendly person on the other end of the phone you have to share a ton of information on the front end, get accepted at a facility, share another ton and a half of information for credentialing, get flight arrangements, driving directions, hotel reservations, hospital orientations, photo id’s, and then you get to see patients on top of all that.

The good thing is that once you have been on an assignment or two and develop a relationship with an agency things do become a bit more bearable. Presentations become smoother, you find out about someone’s kids, your colleagues have worked with the same recruiters on occasion, and life becomes profitable from a clinical and financial standpoint.

One recent example of this foray in to the life of a locums doctor is Dr. Kimberly England. Dr. England is working to advance her education by partaking in a specialized fellowship at this time. She, like most students, also has bills to pay and I had the pleasure of making her acquaintance in the spring of 2008. From our first conversation she very succinctly (and politely I might add) let me know about her desires to find work on the weekends as she entered her final year of her fellowship. We worked through the getting to know you part of the exchange, completed the initial paperwork and began presenting her credentials to our clients. It took a month or three to match up her schedule with just the right facility that needed weekend coverage. Then it took another month or so for the out of state licensing and credentialing process to work itself out. And now she has worked several weekends, provided excellent coverage according to all parties involved, paid off some bills and became eligible for others.  Throughout the entire process she was dedicated to accomplishing all that needed to be done and not once said “Well I can’t do that," or "That won’t work," or "Why are you asking me to do this?”--either with me, the state medical board, or the facility that she worked at. She simply acted professionally at each and every step of the way. 

I am proud of my relationship with Dr. England and appreciate the knowledge that her patients have been well cared for, that she was able to have time to study while on assignment, that her car got repaired and that she did all she could to save a litter of cats abandoned under her porch along the way. I appreciate the disposition she has displayed and look forward to continuing our relationship in the months and years to come.  And if you happen to know of other “Dr. Englands” out there, have them give me a call sometime soon.