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Locuming in Australia and New Zealand

 

Why locum?

The word locum is short for the Latin phrase locum tenens, which translates as someone who

temporarily fulfils the duties of another, which for doctors happens for several reasons; hospitals

covering annual leave, sick leave, to cover general vacancies such as whilst recruiting for permanent

staff or where additional funding has been provided by the government where there are high

waiting lists or other special requirements.

There are many advantages to locuming including:

 independence to work where and when you choose

 a part-time locum job may give you a better work–life balance

 variety – being able to work in different hospitals or clinics

 a higher rate of pay is possible

 you could combine locum work with other employment outside medicine, special interests or

charity work

 earn money whilst exploring career options and possible work locations

 temporary work while you are looking for a permanent job

Different types of locuming:

Traditionally locuming was seen as a way for hospitals and clinics to fill last minute unexpected

vacancies. Nowadays, with the current shortage of doctors, hospitals and clinics are turning more

and more to locums to fill longer positions.

Short term locuming

2 -3 day locum placements – doctors generally do this type of locuming to help out a hospital or

clinic in need or to make extra money. Make sure you pick an agency to do this for you who have a

large number of roles as you need it to fit in with your current work and so it will be a very specific

job that will work for you from a perspective of the timing, including the time to travel there.

1 – 2 week locum placements - doctors generally do this type of locuming to help out, make extra

money, have a paid holiday or use as a “try before you buy” experience.

Long term locuming

This is more of a lifestyle change – doctors generally do this type of locuming to help out for a longer

period of time to help out an area of need and make a real difference to a community. Other

common reasons for doing longer term locuming is to take some time out, have a working holiday

and depressurise or to try out a new place you are thinking of moving to.

How do I get paid?

There are three types of payment methods a hospital or clinic may choose to engage you under:

1. Paid by the hospital or clinic as an employee

2. Paid by the hospital or clinic as a contractor

3. Paid by MedRecruit as a contractor

These payment methods will be discussed fully with you prior to your locum placement starting.

Here at MedRecruit we also have a dedicated accounts team who work with you to ensure efficient

and timely payment, and who are always available to answer any of your questions.

When you start locuming there are many things to consider, including deciding whether to trade as a

company or sole trader, what entity to work through, registering for GST and tax planning. Our sister

company, MedCapital, is set up to help you with this.

How does it fit in with my regular job?

A lot of doctors will locum around their permanent role by looking at doing work on their days off,

using annual leave to locum or moving to part time hours. There are some key things you need to

consider to make short term locuming fit around your current role;

 Knowing where you can work - some states you cannot locum in and a good agency can tell

you that

 Understand where you are in demand - Is there work where you want?

 Plan ahead - planning short term locum around full time work can be done but it’s a jigsaw.

A great recruitment consultant will fit your skillset, preferred location and rates as well as

your time together to make it work for you. The further ahead you plan the better

 Logistics - Most agencies will help take care of logistics for you e.g. travel and

accommodation so make use of these free services to save you time.

Can I take my family?

It’s quite normal for doctors to tie locum work in with holiday locations and bring their family with

them to experience a nice time in a different location. This is something you can always talk to your

Recruitment Consultant about

  

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