And Now For Something Completely Different

I quit my job at UAMS (way too much drama involved in that situation).  My last day was October 31.  My original plan was to take a job with a radiology practice here in Little Rock.  If they had offered me a job back in August when I interviewed, I'm sure I would have accepted it.  However, they were not in a particular hurry to make a decision, which gave me time to think about what I really wanted in my work life and in my work/life balance.

The thing is, I realized that I didn't want to take a job based on convenience--I need a job, they are offering me one, I'll take it.  That didn't work out well at all last go-round.  So to fill time while I find what I want (let's not say the "perfect" job--nothing is perfect, not even the very wonderful job I had at Kaiser), I'm going to do some locums.

Physician locum tenens jobs are plentiful.  I put a few feelers out there and was inundated with possibilities almost immediately.  Oftentimes, these are to fill a spot somewhere in a not-particularly-popular part of the nation, such as Anywhere, North Dakota or Bordertown, Texas.  Radiology is growing as a specialty while radiologists in mid- or late-career are becoming burned out with the case load, so there are openings as those physicians cut back, take early retirement or retire on schedule.  So there are lots of opportunities to temporarily fill those spots.  The groups are hoping that they will find a good locums person and get him or her to stay on permanently.  It also helps the locums figure out where they want to be and what kind of practice they want to be in.

I have worked with three recruiting companies that have really impressed me:

1,  Foster Crown (http://fostercrown.com/)--they advertise themselves as "The Boutique Recruitment Firm", working only with radiologists, vascular surgeons and hospitalists (internists).  Steve May is the CEO.  He is very approachable, knowledgeable and trustworthy.  His assistant, Saj Cherian, is prompt and professional (as is Steve).  They scheduled my first locums, which will be at Feather River Hospital in Paradise, California. 

2.  Medicus Healthcare (https://medicushcs.com/)--Medicus is a larger company, but I have been very happy with them.  Scott Dulac is my recruiter, and he's been totally on top of things for me.  He scheduled my second locums assignment.  I'll be in Nashua, New Hampshire, January through March, 2018. 

3.  Staff Care (https://www.staffcare.com/)--I haven't booked anything with Staff Care yet, but I have really liked my recruiter, Ashli Lakey.  She's really positive and pleasant, and she's keeping up with me.

So, here I go!  I'm leaving for California on Sunday.  I'll spend a week there, then come home for a couple of weeks, then go back until the end of December.  Rowdy will hold down the fort here.  I will update my blog as things go along.  Feel free to ask questions, make comments.