A physician may complete one locum assignment during a transition or build a repeatable independent practice across facilities over many years. The temporary assignment model can support a durable career.
A permanent job can be short-lived. A sequence of temporary assignments can span years. The label on one contract tells you less than the system the physician builds around it.
Assignment duration is not career duration
Locum tenens decisions become clearer when the physician separates the clinical work from the employment, staffing, and operating structures around it. The model deserves neither automatic suspicion nor automatic enthusiasm. It deserves a careful look at the problem being solved.
“The seriousness of the career is visible in the physician’s preparation, continuity, judgment, and operating discipline—not the word temporary.”Editorial principle drawn from Out of the Shadows
The spectrum of commitment
The practical questions come next: what the facility needs, what the physician wants, what responsibilities move with the model, and which claims require current legal, clinical, licensing, insurance, or tax guidance. Education should happen before urgency narrows the decision.
Career spectrum
From one assignment to an independent practice
Each step adds optionality—and more responsibility for the physician to manage well.
A single assignment solves a short-term transition or exploration need.
The physician returns to defined coverage windows alongside another role.
Locums becomes one part of a deliberately mixed professional life.
The physician builds repeatable systems for assignments, business operations, and risk.
What independence asks of you
This framework is a starting point for reflection—not medical, legal, tax, financial, licensing, credentialing, or insurance advice. Before a real assignment or business decision, physicians should verify current facts and consult the professionals appropriate to their circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Can locum tenens be a long-term practice model?
It can be, but a series of temporary assignments needs an operating plan. Consider continuity of work, professional development, credential readiness, expenses, and the responsibilities that one employer previously coordinated.
What should I decide before treating locums as my main career?
Decide how you will evaluate assignments, maintain readiness, manage business obligations, and preserve professional relationships. Review the real arrangements with appropriate advisers rather than extrapolating from one successful block.
About the editorial author
The Locum Tenens Academy editorial team prepares physician-career education from the Academy’s source materials. This article was adapted with AI assistance from Out of the Shadows by William A. Cooper, MD, MBA. The questions and framework are editorial additions, not a quotation or a claim of clinical review.
Sources
About the source author
William A. Cooper, MD, MBA
Cardiothoracic surgeon, healthcare leader, and founder of Locum Tenens Academy. The article series translates the perspective in Out of the Shadows into practical questions for physicians considering locums.