Working with senior hospital clinicians to help them prevent burnout so that they can rediscover balance and joy at work.
‘I don’t know what to do. Shall I take up a locum consultant post?’ A common question- in the OR; the coffee room; the coaching room. Here are a couple of things to consider about a locum consultant post. 1. It gives a flavour of what ‘being a consultant’ really means. A locum consultant post means you get the TRUE consultant experience from decision making to clinical skill and delivering care as the ultimate responsible clinician. The buck stops with you. It gives you the credibility and confidence when it comes to a follow substantive interview and you discuss clinical (and non clinical!) scenarios. 2. It allows you some ‘LSD’. LSD: Look. See. Decide. Especially in a unit you haven’t worked before it could allow you- and your new colleagues/ department - an opportunity to get to know eachother. Figure out the commute/ post/ parking/ people! 3. It allows flexibility. Maybe you are ‘waiting’ for the ‘perfect post’ to be advertised’for you’. A locum post can offer flexibility to ‘drop and run’ or ‘stay and play’. A locum is not all bad or all good. It certainly isn’t a sign of failure. The problem is that many residents are having it as their ONLY option post CCT. Own perspective: I went from a very secure, substantive post in a hospital a trained and loved (looking at you Glasgow Royal Infirmary!) to a locum post in a city I knew no one but embraced me (thank you NDAC & OUH!). I’ll expand on some of the pitfalls and worries surrounding locum posts tomorrow.
Associate Specialist Anaesthetist
1moOne question to ask: Why is the employer offering a locum instead of a substantive post? There are good and less good reasons… A few examples: Short-term funding in place while long- term awaited. Gap cover ( maternity/long term sickness/sabbatical) A desire to ‘stress test’ in locum posts prior to substantive employment An attempt to get away with undesirable job plans otherwise deemed unattractive Etcetc I advise to find out the reasons, as you can learn something about the department and employer.