While the stability of 9-5 hours, Monday to Friday in the same practice may be ideal for some, other GPs may be more interested in a range of professional and travel opportunities. For these adventurous spirits, working as a temporary physician on short-term contracts in a range of locations is the calling many are asking for. If you think seeing more of Australia while working suits you, you may have stumbled onto the greatest career advice you can find! Let’s learn a little bit more about the benefits of working as a locum doctor in Australia.

How do I know if medical locum work is right for me?

It takes a particular type of individual to flourish in a locum working environment - changing jobs frequently, moving around and tackling new challenges isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. However, locum assignments have a lot of benefits for those who are ready to take them on. Here’s a few pointers about the traits and/or career goals you need to have to succeed as a locum doctor:

• A passion for travel and new experiences. Locum placements can take you all over Australia, so you need to be adaptable to new ways of working. You also need to be able to embrace a range of medical responsibilities, especially in smaller practices where you may be the only treating doctor.
• An interest in developing your career. As mentioned before, working as a locum GP will place you in all kinds of practices and communities across the country. This can be a tremendous learning experience for you, especially earlier on in your medical career.
• A personable character. Working as a locum doctor requires you to work with different teams of people regularly, both as medical colleagues and new patients.

Think you tick those boxes? A career as a locum medical practitioner could offer many benefits!

Locum work may be the ideal change you need in your medical career.

Five benefits of working as a locum doctor

Here are just five of the many positives you can enjoy by switching to a locum medical career:

1)Travel opportunities

The locum life can take you to all corners of Australia, from busy medical practices in major cities to bush towns where you may be the only doctor for kilometres around. Whether you prefer bustling cities, the secluded Outback or the vibrant tropics, temporary doctor positions give you the chance to experience everything this country has to offer. Healthcare assignments also differ in length of time, giving you are huge variety of working experiences. It’s an excellent way to travel without taking time out from your medical career - all while you are in full control of where you go and for how long!

2)Career flexibility

Locum assignments tend to be shorter term, usually to cover for another doctor away from their practice for a spell of time. The temporary nature of this work means you have more choice with how often you work and your hours of operation. You can easily build your locum schedule around other commitments in your life, such as looking after children or pursuing a full-time hobby. If weekend or after-hours work suits you better, or you need to leave for a few hours in the afternoon, life as an independent contractor is right for you!

3)Professional development and training

As a doctor, the more experience you gain in a range of different medical roles, the better for developing your professional skills. Even as a GP with a range of responsibilities, working full-time in the same practice year-on-year can stunt your drive to pursue new training - familiarity breeds lethargy after all! Locum work, on the other hand, is as far apart from this professional development stagnation as possible. The temporary nature of placements means doctors will work in a variety of environments, with different levels of resourcing, support staff and types of patients. This ensures you face new challenges every day and are prepared for whatever your career may throw at you next!

4)Trialling roles for a permanent placement

Looking for your ideal doctor job, the one that will set you up for life, is hard to do with interviews alone. How can you be sure that a medical practice that seems wonderful from first glance is the right spot for you down the track? Locum roles give medical practitioners the chance to ‘trial’ a number of different kinds of clinics and medical positions all over the country. This sampling helps doctors, particularly earlier in their career, to decide on whether they want to work in a big or small practice, public or private sector and a city or small town.

5)Increased remuneration and incentives

The security of a regular income through a full-time placement is certainly appealing - but locum work can offer extremely lucrative opportunities for short-term contracts. Because locums are often filling in for medical practitioners’ away on annual leave or other assignments, practice managers need to fill in the role as quickly as possible with the right candidate. Managers also need to minimise the amount of time a clinic is without its GP, so often offer very substantial remuneration and incentive packages to encourage doctors to take up the position immediately.

Locum assignments often offer higher remuneration than resident doctor salaries.

Breaking down a locum income - what you can earn

While the income of a locum doctor can be substantially higher than a resident doctor, accurately determining the average locum salary over a year depends on a number of factors, including:

• How often doctors work/how many assignments they take up.
• Where medical practitioners choose to work.
• Whether GPs work in the public or private sector.
• The size of the practice or clinic that doctors work in.
• If medical practitioners choose to bulk bill Medicare or not.

Different states and districts across Australia have varying rates based on their remoteness and the number of nearby practices. However, a good starting point for daily rates is that GP roles in metropolitan or rural/remote locations typically range from $1,200 a day - $1,500 per day. Emergency GP positions, meanwhile, range from $1,800 per day - $2,200 per day.

With all of this information in mind, what’s important to take away from this is that you are in full control of your career as a locum - generally, the more you work, the more you will earn. However, if you want to be more selective with your hours and assignments, many are happy to sacrifice higher earnings in the name of spending more time with family or pursuing hobbies. Choice is the name of the game with locum work - and the right role for you could be just around the corner!

The amount you are paid as a locum doctor depends what state you work in.

Think that life as a locum physician may just be the change you need in your medical career? There are a range of roles available across Australia, so picking the right one may seem daunting. Your Doctor Jobs’ team of medical recruitment specialists can help you find a position tailormade for your level of career development, healthcare specialisation, lifestyle and ideal location.

Let us do the legwork and you can reap the benefits of an exciting life of travel, flexible working hours and career development. Contact Your Doctor Jobs today to get started!