CompHealth study finds radiologists attracted to locum tenens work

May 14, 2003

Drawn by flexible schedules, fewer administrative responsibilities, variety in work environments, and competitive pay, radiologists are increasingly open to practicing on a locum tenens basis, according to a study conducted by CompHealth, a healthcare staffing service based in Salt Lake City.

The study included all physician specialty types that worked short-term assignments for CompHealth during 2002; data were collected via surveys. Of the radiologists surveyed, 77% had worked as a locum tenens for one year or more; 46% had more than 30 years of experience; 93% were board certified; 72% preferred to work one- to two-week assignments; and 78% planned to continue to do short-term assignments on an intermittent basis.

The majority of radiologists accepting locum tenens work were 60 or older, implying that their experience level was high, as compared with the general physician population, in which locum tenens physicians were more evenly distributed across a wide age range.

The CompHealth study found that radiologists tend to consider short-term work at three career junctures: semi-retirement, career transition, and after retirement, with 54% of those who responded to the study being either semi-retired or retired, and 26% being in career transition.

Participants in the study cited several key benefits to accepting locum tenens assignments, including:

Ability to practice part-time.
Freedom from administrative duties.
Flexibility in work schedule.
Income.
Ability to travel.
Opportunity to practice in varied settings.

Participants ranked the benefits of locum tenens in order of importance, listing geographic location as most important (72.7%), compensation as second (69.7%), quality of assignment third (63.7%), work schedule flexibility fourth (48.5%), and prestige of facility fifth (5%).

The majority of those surveyed used income from their locum tenens work as a secondary source of income, according to the study.

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
May 15, 2003
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