Whether you’re new on the medical scene or you’re looking to make a switch into the sector, there are many positions to choose from that come with their own pros and cons when you are a doctor and that it can be difficult to decide which might be the best move for you.
Locum doctors tend to move around from practice to practice, providing help where it’s desperately needed, which can be appealing for many reasons.
If you’re wondering about the benefits that you can enjoy as a locum doctor, then look no further than this piece!
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Locum Doctor Benefits
All jobs come with benefits to a certain degree, and this will vary from company to company, practice to practice. However, one known benefit for a locum doctor is that you can get a specialist’s advice on things such as housing. Take a look at Doctors Mortgages Online for advice on securing mortgages for locum doctors if you’re looking at buying a house or you’re considering switching mortgages to see what benefits you might be able to enjoy.
Other benefits for doctors can include NHS discount (in the UK), generous annual leave, NHS pension (in the UK), and study leave and a budget!
Flexibility
There is a significant amount of flexibility when you work as a locum doctor. You’re not tied to one surgery or one city, and you’re able to move around and agree to work whenever it suits you. Locum doctors have the freedom to choose how much they work, where they work, and if they want to work at all, and for some people, this will be the main attraction of this position.
This flexibility allows them to organize work around their personal life and responsibilities, which is notoriously not something that other doctors are able to do.
Different Work Environments
There’s a certain comfort in going into the same building day in day out — you know what you’re getting, where the coffee machine is, and who’s going to greet you at the front desk. However, for people who have more of a sense of adventure, being able to work in different health care settings such as hospitals, clinics, or other facilities can bring an edge of excitement and refreshment that you can’t get as a standard general practitioner.
An additional benefit to this is that you’ll have a chance to meet with new like-minded, skilled professionals, broaden your horizons, and also come into contact with different opportunities.
Less Paperwork
When someone thinks about becoming a doctor, it is very unlikely that they’re dreaming of sitting at their desk all day filling in various forms and sending off emails and letters. But this can be the reality for many general practitioners.
Locums don’t have half of the paperwork to be bogged down with as you’re not tied to a specific department or institution, which means that you can put the pen down much earlier than your colleagues, and spend more time seeing patients or doing what you enjoy.