Beat Medical Blog

The Pied Piper - And Other Fairy Tales About Locums And Agencies

Posted by Beat Medical

Fairytale 1: Hospitals own their doctors

We know that there are not enough doctors in Australia- especially so for emergency, critical care, anaesthetics, and general practice jobs. The health system (public and private) relies on casual/locum doctors to hold things together, and keep hospitals going.

In a previous article, we wrote about how one state in Australia seems to be doing everything in its power to actually reduce the amount of locum doctors available to hospitals, and the community. One concerning trend we are seeing is the commodification of medical staff - and the perception from health departments, and individual hospitals that they actually "own" the doctors in their employ.

A number of the locum doctors who work with us have received letters, emails, and threats from their health services regarding 'secondary employment' as a locum. They generally read: "Dear Doctor XYZ.... it has come to our attention that you have taken time off to work at ABC Hospital recently as a locum. I must caution you that you may face disciplinary action if this continues.....etc". They then go on to cite policies, and of course - OH&S risks. There is a valid concern about doctors working too many hours, and all employers ought to be attentive to that fact. However, the message doctors are generally receiving is: "It is dangerous to work so many hours as a locum, but if you do it here, we will turn a blind eye".

Fairytale 2: Pirates and dragons

There is an entrenched idea in health services that locums, and locum agencies are nothing but a ragtag bunch of mercenaries and pirates - selling their services to the highest bidder. Managers are told to discourage use of locums and locum agencies (the dragons) at all costs - for the sake of the system. This is because the cost is prohibitive, locums are dangerous, and all agencies do is take "their" doctors to work someone else.

To those hospitals objecting to doctors on their payroll working in other places in their off time, we have a suggestion. Review every single locum you are employing at your facility - and stop using those who are usually employed somewhere else. You have plenty of well-trained doctors waiting in the wings to take their place - right? No?

Fairy tale 3: Locum agencies are the pied pipers

We sometimes recieve feedback from some employers that they feel locum agencies are some fanciful type of pied pipers for doctors, leading their doctors astray. Hospital managers need to consider that locums are contributing to the healthcare needs of mainly regional and rural communities- locums are without question, highly skilled envoys who should be commended by their home health service for taking time away from family, social life, recreation time to help others.

Fairy tale 4: Locums are money-hungry

Sure, locums are usually on a higher rate than a regular employee. I am no economist, but from what I can remember, where demand outstrips supply, price increases. The point is that the market dictates the economy for locums - it's not as if the locum is going to ask for less than the going rate. However, employers need to consider whether "their" staff are going other places because they want more money, or are they going for another reason? Perhaps it is because the roster they are working is inhuman, they don't have a good relationship with their supervisor, or for a far less sinister reason - do they just want a change?

Fairy tale 5: All hospital administrators are ogres

As a former hospital manager, I must come to the defence of my former colleagues. Being a hospital administrator is a difficult, thankless job - especially when upper management and "The Department" are throwing everything in the way of effective recruitment and rostering. Here is an example - in one state, hospitals are being forced to enter all locum shifts onto an online system in order to attract locums directly (and thereby avoid agencies, and any possible hint of human interaction). So, instead of spending time developing relationships with salaried and locum staff (like good managers do), the new priority is data entry. I can already see the doctors lining up to use the system to organise their shifts, flights, accommodation, rates, medical registration, orientation, and more. The online system does all of that, right?

Are locum agencies the pied piper? Who is really leading the health system off the cliff?

Tell us what you think by posting a comment below.

The Truth About Medical Locum Agencies

Posted by Beat Medical

One of the great benefits of being a locum is that there will most likely be organisations lining up for your services. You might be wondering - is it worth registering with a locum agency?

A medical locum agency can help you sift through all of the offers, and be an advocate in the employment market. They will negotiate on your behalf, and make sure all of the paperwork is done.

However, if you choose the wrong locum agency, it could do more damage than good. If they do not have enough experience or expertise, lack contacts at hospitals (and other organisations), or at worst - act in an unprofessional or dishonest way, it could have a long term detrimental effect on your career.

The good news is that you have a choice of medical locum agencies. There are a number of agencies in Australia offering locum work, and most claim to have the ‘best work’ at the ‘best rates’. Several claim to be the biggest and the best. How do you sort through all of the agencies out there?

Start by asking yourself - what benefits does a doctor want from a locum agency?

Is there a good candidate to recruitment consultant ratio? (i.e. how much attention will you get)

Would you prefer a massive agency with thousands of candidates on their books, or a smaller higher service agency? It is going to make a difference to your bank account. Locum work is very fast moving, and requires a great deal of attention on the part of the recruiter to identify the best shifts for you (right place, right time, right money). If they are overloaded, they just won’t be able to give you the attention you need.

What is the background of the recruitment consultants?

Are they specialist healthcare recruiters? Or do they not know the difference between an intern and a consultant? Do they have experience in the public and/or private healthcare system? When recruitment consultants deal with hospitals, their background, and knowledge is going to show from the first minute of their call. Your recruitment consultant is your public image - you need to be confident that you are dealing with someone who knows their stuff.

Do they have relationships with healthcare providers (public and private) around Australia?

Does the recruiter have an established network of employers around Australia? Without good relationships with employers, you are unlikely to get the best work.

Do they offer additional support such as career planning, help with resumes, interviews, and other training?

A professional medical recruitment company should be able to offer you substantial assistance with your career in general. As experts in recruitment, they have the knowledge to help you fine tune your resume, prepare for interviews, and develop application letters.

Do they have a regular newsletter to keep you up to date?

A high-service medical recruitment agency should send our industry updates, and keep in contact with you on a regular basis.

Do they have an organisational charity program?

Unfortunately, the recruitment industry is one that has had a reputation of questionable ethics and motivations. An organsational charity program is a good indication that the company has a social and moral conscience.

Does the locum agency hold membership of a peak body?

Is the medical locum agency a member of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, and/or the Association of Medical Recruiters Australia and New Zealand? Membership of these organisations means that the company is required to adhere to a strict code of conduct, and maintain professional training standards.

Medical Recruitment Secret Weapon #1

Posted by Beat Medical

Everyone is a recruiter

Who is responsible for doctor recruitment in your organisation? For GP clinics, it might be the practice manager, you may have a professional recruitment department, you might outsource to a medical recruitment agency, or the recruiter may be you.

Wrong answer!

We like to say that medical recruitment is the responsibility of every member of your organisation. Obviously, when recruiting it is administratively necessary to have someone taking care of the advertising, interviews, etc., but to what extent are you involving everyone in the organisation in your recruitment efforts?

There are some simple steps you can take to make everyone an owner of the recruitment process:

• Make sure everyone knows when there are vacancies. This can be as easy as a weekly email, or notice stapled to a payslip.
• Train everyone with basic recruitment skills (preparing job descriptions, EEO, advertisements, culling & screening, interviews, reference checks).
• Ensure all team members can answer the question "Do you have any vacancies at the moment", and know where to refer the person to.
• Involve team members you may usually not in the interview process - they may bring a fresh perspective
• Incentivise referrals. If a staff member refers a fantastic GP, emergency doctor, anaesthetist, or other specialist reward them with an appropriate incentive. These can range from a nice thank-you note, lunch, a gift voucher, or even a cash amount. Be as generous as you can! The faster you find someone, the less you will spend on the recruitment process overall.
• Celebrate new staff appointments. Have a morning tea when a new staff member starts, go out for drinks, or just say thank you to the team.

These are just a few options, and the possibilities are almost endless. What do you do to give your team ownership of recruitment?

What Is Your Career IQ?

Posted by Beat Medical

Take our 5 minute quiz to assess your career intelligence

1. Do you have a written career plan (one that includes what you want to do, where you want to be, how much you will make, what skills you will develop, and more?)
2. Have you had training on how to write a resume since high school?
3. Do you know how to almost guarantee getting an interview by using the right application techniques?
4. Do you have highly effective interview skills? Where did you learn them?
5. Do you know what your referees will say about you? Have you asked them?
6. Do you have at least 5 unique points that differentiate you from other job applicants?
7. Do you have a mentor?
8. Do you have professional representation for your career?
9. Are you networking effectively to access the hidden job market?
10. Do you know what you would do if you were knocked back for your dream job (or any job)?

Scoring

The scoring is simple:

Give yourself a "Yes" response for those items you are completely confident you are practicing right now. For each yes, you get 10 points.How did you go? Remember there are no right or wrong answers, and not many people can claim to be effective at all of these items. If you got 100 points, well done, you have a future in recruitment!

10-30 points

Your career IQ needs a little help - the good news is that you can put yourself up a few points easily. Focus on the things you can change right now.

40-60 points

Your career IQ is average - you're doing what most people are doing. Try to add a few more points over the next six months.

70-100 points

You're doing well! Congratulations, you're on the path to a fantastic career.

Doctor's Locum Career Dies on the Table

Posted by Beat Medical

In his third year of being a doctor, Dr. James Jones decided to do some locum work. He had heard stories from collegues about amazing rates, easy shifts, and secretly resented his award pay rate after the years of study he had put in. A locum agency had come to give a talk at his hospital, and made it sound even better. He spent a few days setting up some shifts, and arrived for his first locum shift at Backwater Hospital Emergency Department. When he arrived, there was no accommodation organised, and he didn’t have a clue where to go. It was hard enough to get there in the first place, and the rates really weren’t what he was after. James had thought about signing up with that locum agency, but decided he’d give it a go himself - how hard could it be? Alas, once he called the hospitals, the suave negotiator he imagined himself to be went out the window altogether. He ended up with shifts that he was just happy with, and at rates he was just okay with, and it had taken over a week for the hospital to get back to him. James thought that as a locum, there would be hospitals welcoming him, and eternally grateful for his services. Instead, there was no-one to greet him, and it turned out he was just another locum.

In my business, I hear stories like this every single day. Although many doctors have very positive experiences as locums in the public health system, there is an administrative minefield which most are surprised to find - until they try to wade through it. There are often policies, procedures, and paperwork to contend with just to register with a hospital - and that is before you even start work!

An example of this is the drastic changes NSW Health made recently with regard to locums. There were limitations placed on how much hospitals could pay (some metropolitan hospitals can now only pay award rate), there were new standards for training, and documentation that had to be completed. You may not have heard anything about these changes like these, as they often come unannounced.

Locum work can be of great benefit if you are after more experience, money, a working holiday, or all of these. However, before you get started, it is important to consider your reasons for locuming, and what you want out of it:

• Think about why you want to do locum work? If it is to make more money, do you have an end in mind (for example, a new car); - and will you stop after you have reached your goal? You need to define how long you will do it for, especially if it is in addition to a full time job. Consider the very real effects of burnout and stress.
• Locum work needs to be consistent with your overall professional career plan. Locuming can be an effective networking opportunity. Thinking about applying to a particular hospital next year? Doing some shifts there will develop some invaluable contacts, and a ‘foot in the door’.
• Where do you want to go, and what do you want to do? Do you want to experience a remote area, or prefer to stick to the city? It is fairly certain that the further you go out of metropolitan areas, the more you will be paid - but balance the location with the experience you are seeking.
• What do you want to be paid? Be honest with yourself. If you are a PGY3, are you really worth $200 per hour? If you think so, good on you! Look at what the market is offering, and don’t push the envelope too much. Once you develop a relationship with the facility, you will have a world of opportunities for ‘desperation’ shifts with much higher rates.
• Also, think about additional benefits you would like, such as flights, accommodation, taxi vouchers, meal vouchers, reimbursements, on-call allowances, paid travel time, travelling allowance, milage, and more. Your imagination is limitless, but hospital budgets are not, so be judicious about what you ask for.
• Be shrewd. Consider why there is a vacancy at that hospital. Try to talk to somebody who has worked there before to get the scuttlebutt. Is it filled with mad consultants (or no consultants), does it have terrible accommodation, or poor after-hours services? Do your research first, or make a small commitment to test the waters yourself. If it is not good, move on.
• Take time to prepare for being a locum.Your resume is your sales pitch to the hospital. You will probably need to do a complete revision on your resume to make sure it is presenting the key benefits of employing you as a locum, as there is probably more competition out there than you realise. Resumes are often a testament to what you want, and what you have done. Your emphasis needs to be on what you can offer that hospital. Read through your resume with this story in mind, and take a few hours to do some resume renovation. Every single benefit you present needs to be specific, and backed up by examples, where possible.

When you are ready, you will then need to start making calls to hospitals to see what is available. You should have a list of prospects ready, and look at transport options to each location to see if they are feasible. When speaking to the manager at the hospital, be polite and avoid discussing money until the end of the conversation. However, don’t be afraid to ask for details about accommodation, flights, and other benefits.

You may also wish to consider engaging a locum agency, which is always free for doctors (they charge the hospitals). Locum agencies keep up to date with key industry changes, and will often take away the administrative work from you. Pick your agency carefully, because they are not all the same. They range from professionally run outfits to ‘factories’ with young salespeople with no appreciation of the health industry. Look for experience, credibility, a fast response to you, and a good reputation. Do not leave your career to chance, or in the hands of an inexpert locum agency.

So, what happened to James? He continued doing locum work, but spent too much time trying to find it, negotiate with the hospitals, and keeping up to date with the constant changes in the health department regulations. He gave up after a few months. James wasn’t aware of the secrets to successful locum work:

1. Know why you’re doing it, and how long you’ll do it for
2. Use locuming as an effective networking opportunity, and a chance to try a position ‘before you buy’
3. Have a plan about where you want to go
4. Make sure what you do as a locum is consistent with your career plan
5. Be clear about what you want to be paid, but stay congruent with the market
6. Seek out opportunities for added extras like flights and accommodation.
7. Be shrewd about where you go - speak to those who have been there before.
8. Prepare for being a locum - make sure your resume is in good order, and emphasises the key benefits of
employing you.
9. Make sure you have all of the right documentation ready for the hospital to consider you.
10 .Consider a locum agency - you take your car to a mechanic, and go to an accountant for your tax. Why
should your career be DIY?

Above all, keep evolving. Locum work is an opportunity for growth, and you will develop experience you may never in your day to day job. Heed James’ cautionary tale - follow these secrets, and you will succeed as a locum.