2012 hospitalist locum tenens survey from locum leaders

2012 Hospitalist Locum Tenens Survey

Introduction

The past two decades have seen explosive growth in Hospital Medicine. A majority of US

hospitals now have hospital medicine programs and the number of physicians practicing as

Hospitalists has risen from ~7,000 in 2001 to a projected 35,000 this year, according to the

Society of Hospital Medicine.

The growth in the specialty has, in turn, led to increased use of locum tenens hospitalists.

Industry surveys that gauge demand for locum tenens by specialty show Hospital Medicine

ranked number one as the most requested need.

To learn more about the physicians filling the temporary staffing needs of our clients, Locum

Leaders partnered with Today’s Hospitalist magazine. At our request, the magazine inserted

several questions specific to locum tenens in its 2012 Career and Compensation Survey of

the nation’s hospitalists. The results offer a snapshot into the total size and motivations of

the Hospitalist locum tenens workforce.

New to the survey this year are questions regarding social media. The results show strong

interest in social media with Hospitalist usage rivaling general consumer adoption.

As one of the nation’s leading recruitment firms for Hospitalist locum tenens, we pride

ourselves on our in-depth knowledge of the specialty. In sharing our data, we seek to add to

the industry’s body of knowledge regarding Hospitalist employment trends.

Will Drescher, Chief Executive Officer

Locum Leaders

2Locum Leaders, LLC. | 877-562-8656 (877 LocumJobs) | www.locumleaders.com

For the second year in a row,

Hospital Medicine remains

the most requested locum

tenens need for hospitals.

Survey Methodology

The data presented in this report are a subset of a larger, national survey of Hospitalists

independently conducted in the summer of 2012 by Today’s Hospitalist magazine. A total

of 966 responses were tabulated for the survey with a 3% +/- margin of error. Complete

responses will be published in the Today’s Hospitalist Compensation & Career Guide in

October and at www.todayshospitalist.com.

Defining Locum Tenens

From a latin phrase meaning “to substitute or hold the place of,” locum tenens is the

industry term used to describe healthcare providers who take contracted, temporary

positions at healthcare facilities. Hospitals, clinics and physician management groups

typically use locum tenens providers to fill vacation or maternity leaves, open positions,

or part-time positions. The analyst group, Staffing Industry Associates, estimates the

recruitment and placement of locum tenens physicians as a $2B segment of the

staffing industry.

About Locum Leaders

Locum Leaders is a one of the fastest growing locum tenens recruitment firms in the United

States, and was the first to hire a Hospitalist Chief Medical Officer. The company specializes

in consultative Hospital Medicine workforce solutions for Hospitals, Health Systems and

Hospitalist Management Groups. In 2012, the company was named one the Best Places to

Work in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine and recognized for the third year in a

row as one of Atlanta’s Best Places to Work by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

For more information and to find locum tenens jobs, visit the company’s website at

http://www.locumleaders.com,email [email protected] or call 877-562-8656

(877-LocumJobs).


Key Findings

11.6% of the nation’s Hospitalists have worked as locum tenens within the past 12

months, an increase over the 10% reported in the previous year’s survey.

Of Hospitalists who work as locum tenens, 14.5% identify themselves as full-time locum

tenens, meaning they are self-employed. 10.8% claimed full-time locum tenens status

in the previous year’s survey.

Compensation and career flexibility are primary motivators for Hospitalists who work as

locum tenens.

A small percentage of Hospitalists use social media in job searches and find it helpful.

Analysis

As the ranks of Hospital Medicine grow, so does the percentage of Hospitalists working as

locum tenens physicians.

The specialty has grown by almost 5,000 physicians over the past three years, according

to the Society of Hospital Medicine, but the increase in the available physician pool hasn’t

diminished locum tenens opportunities for Hospitalists. To the contrary, more Hospitalists

are working either full-time as locum tenens or supplementing salaried employment with

additional locum shifts.

11.6% of Hospitalists did some sort of locum tenens work during the past year—up from

10% the previous year. Of those who worked as locum tenens, 14.5% said they did so full-

time—a significant increase over the 10.8% who claimed full-time locum tenens status in

the prior survey.

Increasing pay rates for locum tenens are a key driver, according to Robert Harrington, MD,

SFHM, a practicing Hospitalist and the Chief Medical Officer of Locum Leaders.

“Demand for Hospitalists—part-time and full-time—exceeds supply and that, in turn, has

driven up hourly pay for locum tenens over the past several years,” said Dr. Harrington.

This year’s survey asked Hospitalists about social media usage. 60% of respondents said

they used Facebook, 23% reported using LinkedIN, and 7% had used Twitter. The results,

which mirror consumer adoption of these sites, aren’t surprising to Dr. Harrington.

“Ours is a newer specialty that skews toward younger physicians who are open to the use

of social media.” he said.

Another sign of growing social media adoption: 8% of Hospitalists in the survey said they

had used social media in a job search to browse job ads, reply to a recruiter or to network

with others about employment opportunities.

11.6% of Hospitalists said

they worked as locum

tenens, an increase from

the previous year.


Survey Results

Have you worked as a locum tenens physician within the past 12 months? (N=770)

No

Yes

Responses below are from physicians who responded “yes” to working as a locum tenens within the past 12 months (N= 89)

Which statement below best describes your employment status?

How many assignments have you worked within the past year?

What is your ideal locum tenens assignment length?

What are the benefits of working as a locum tenens (choose all that apply)?

Compensation

Freedom to choose when/where to work

Flexibility

Varied clinical experiences

Travel

Exploring new career options

Scale down from full-time practice

More time for patient care

Other

Less than 1 month

1 to 4 months

5 to 8 months

9 to 12 months

Over 12 months

Less than 1 month 49%1 to 4 months 26%5 to 8 months 11%9 to 12 months 1%Over 12 months 13%

50%

22.6%

10.7%

8.3%

1

2

3

4

5

6 or more

34.1%4.7%

9.4%

15.3%20%

16.5%

I am employed full-time and work locum tenens

I am employed part-time and work locum tenens

I am a full-time locum tenens (self-employed)

63.9%

14.5%

21.6%

73.5%

68.7%

66.3%

36.1%

32.5%

26.5%

15.7%

12%

3.6%


88.4%

11.6%

Half of Hospitalists

who work as locum

tenens prefer relatively

short-term assignments

of a month or less.

What are the drawbacks of working as a locum tenens (choose all that apply)?

Time away from home / family

Uncertainty about assignments

Lack of benefits

Lack of prestige

Other

73.7%

63.2%

57.9%

27.6%

7.9%


60% of Hospitalists say

they use Facebook.

Which of these popular consumer social media sites do you ever use?

Facebook

LinkedIN

Twitter

None of these

Are you using or have you used social media for a job search?

If using social media in job search, how are you using it?

Search Job Ads

Respond to a Job Inquiry or Recruitment Pitch from a Social Media Source

Research a Prospective Employer or Hiring Manager

Network with a Prospective Employer or others connected to a Prospective Employer

If using social media in job search, how helpful is it in your search?

Very helpful

Somewhat helpful

Not helpful

60.4%

22.9%

7%

32.2%

75.9%

41.4%

24.1%

10.4%

37.9%

58.6%

3.4%

No

Yes

Less than 1 month 49%1 to 4 months 26%5 to 8 months 11%9 to 12 months 1%Over 12 months 13%

92%

8%

Locum and non-locum Hospitalists responded to the survey’s social media questions. (N = 571)

Documents

2012 hospitalist locum tenens survey from locum leaders