|
At MBI Medical, many of our doctors are enjoying fulfilling careers as locum GPs in private and NHS practices all over the UK. In this article we set out to discover the main advantages of working as a locum GP. Obviously everyone has their own particular reasons, based on their personal circumstances, but we have tried to boil it down to a top five. Please note that this list is in no particular order so No.1 shouldn’t be viewed as the most important reason for becoming a GP; if anything we’ve found, from our experience talking to doctors, Nos 4 & 5 are the most popular answers – but you’ll have to read down the list to discover what they are! 1. Money: okay let’s get this one out of the way early. Obviously, in any profession, your earnings are bound to be an important factor. When you join MBI Medical you will find the most generous rewards for all your hard work, at times earning as much as a practice partner. Yet, the fact remains, becoming a doctor is a vocation, not just a job; they’re not in it for the money because, after all, there must be easier ways to earn a living? 2. Hours: many doctors have young families so, when they’re done looking after everyone else’s they like to get back to their own. By becoming a locum GP you can choose what hours you want to work, rather than being tied down until the evening when your children have already hit the sack by the time you get home. There’s nothing more conducive to your own wellbeing than maintaining a good work/life balance. 3. Venue: perhaps you don’t want to be tied down to the same place every week of the year. Perhaps you might want to spread your wings a little bit and try different practices with new people and a different view from the window. On the other hand, you might want to stick around for a while. MBI Medical has built preferred supplier partnerships with GP practices in all areas of the UK, offering long and short term contracts, so there’s bound to be a venue or venues to suit your preferences. 4. Helping people: many appointments take longer with resident GPs than they do with locums. It creates backlogs and waiting times increase. The problem is, regular visitors to the practice form personal relationships with their doctor, therefore they spend more time with them discussing unrelated matters; four or five minutes here and there soon add up. The locum on the other hand has no such expectation of extra care or need for socialising placed upon them and can deal quickly with the case at hand. 5. Helping practices: it is a sad fact that many GP practices are struggling these days; more than a few in deprived areas. Lack of funds and GPs who would rather work in practices with more manageable workloads means there are plenty of opportunities for locums to take up the slack. In this way they are doing a service not only to the practice itself but to the whole community. This reason and the one before it are the reasons people become doctors in the first place: to help others. It is an admirable trait in any human being and one that should be applauded. There you have it: the main reasons, in our opinion, why GPs choose to work as locums. If you are a GP and you are considering trying locum work, you might have your own reasons. Get in touch with us at MBI Medical, we’d love to know what they are. As a leading medical recruitment consultancy with over 15 years’ worth of experience in this business, and the respect of healthcare professionals across the UK, MBI Medical should be the first call you make anyway.
Monday Jan 16, 2017
|
