Locum Tenens Opportunities: A Geographic Breakdown

When it comes to locum tenens job opportunities, providers consider three major factors: 




Every provider aims to finish their shift around 4 pm and stay free during the nights and weekends. That’s their ideal routine with proper work-life balance. However, every specialty has specific requirements. 


Suppose you are an ER physician, you should be covering a defined amount of shifts in a week or month. In case you are a pediatrician, you can work from Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm. Even the pay differs depending on the specialty type, location, and demand.


Here comes the question: Where should I practice? Is it possible to practice in desirable locations? This article aims to dig deep into the locum tenens jobs opportunities across various regions in the US according to the demand.


Demand-wise Differentiation of Specialties 


There are four categories of medical specialties:




Geographic breakdown of locum opportunities


Very high demand


Almost 50% of healthcare facilities were looking for locum tenens positions in the very high-demand specialties of primary care, hospital medicine, emergency medicine, and anesthesiology. Among them, hospital medicine and emergency medicine experience keep doubling in demand. 


Taking emergency medicine jobs into consideration, there is at least one emergency medicine job in every US state.


Texas and New York are the states with the most job opportunities for emergency medicine physicians.


Taken together, an emergency medicine physician looking for a locum tenens can work in any state, especially New York and Texas.


High Demand


Among the high-demand medical specialties, urology, cardiology, neurology, and orthopedic surgery tops the list. Like how we did for Emergency medicine, let’s analyze the Urology specialty state-wise.


New York, Florida, and California are the states with the most job opportunities for urologists.


Despite having 62 total Urology jobs, 13 states did not have any single vacancy for urologists and 34 states had only 1-3 positions open vacancies.


Moderate Demand


Oncology and Radiology specialties top the list with moderate demand for locum tenens. Only 18 states had available Oncology locum tenens positions where California reported the maximum. 


Low Demand


Only less than 5% of the locum tenens positions fall in this low-demand group of medical specialties. However, there is an inconsistency that reduces both the demand and interest in locum tenens. 


Suppose an allergist is looking for a locum tenens opportunity, he would have to choose multiple jobs from multiple states. 


Conclusion


Hope this article gave a clear picture of what is really out there for providers looking for locum tenens jobs. Great opportunities await you if your specialty is in the high-demand groups, with opportunities in almost all states. In case you fall into a lower-demand group, you will still reap the benefits of locum tenens work by working in multiple care facilities in multiple states.


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