Dr. Shaffer discovered locum tenens during his 30 years of service in the United States Army. Doctors often make half the salary of their counterparts while serving our country, so he found practicing locum tenens a viable solution. In addition to supplemental income, Dr. Shaffer found that practicing locum tenens held value in many other ways that benefitted his career, health, and family. Picking up assignments kept his current skill set sharp and allowed him to expand his knowledge and capabilities by gaining experience treating cases not common on base.
"Working, pulling ER shifts while on active duty allowed me to make some side money, but also allowed me to experience and become familiar with different things that you don't see with active duty personnel," says Dr. Shaffer.
How Today's Providers Are Beating Burnout As many other physicians have learned, practicing locum tenens alleviates certain aspects of permanent practice that cause burnout when physicians are tasked with business-based, administrative, and policy responsibilities. Non-clinical duties cause burnout and diminish providers' time for patient care, which is the primary reason they dedicate their lives to practicing medicine.
"There's a lot of good, experienced senior doctors that just get tired of the grind and want to be able to have control," says Dr. Shaffer.
“I was tired of fourteen ten-hour shifts a month plus being in all of these meetings, and my wife was like, 'You know, you're miserable,'” he adds. "I found a renewed spirit through the flexibility of my schedule and added control with locum tenens, in addition to a trusted partner in Kat Schrader, Physician Recruiter at VeloSource," says Dr. Shaffer.
A Relationship with VeloSource Built on Trust from Day One “When my locum tenens journey with VeloSource began, I'll be honest with you; I think if I would have dealt with anybody but Kat, that probably wouldn't have happened. VeloSource has had great communication; they're on time and on point, and I couldn't be happier,” he continued.
When asked about the future of the locum tenens industry concerning a healthcare landscape facing an aging population, physician shortage, rising costs, and expanding disparity in regional access to care, he stated, "If you look at the big picture in medicine, not just emergency medicine, but medicine, you know, our healthcare system is strained.”
As Dr. Shaffer attests, our system, providers such as himself, and communities nationwide can meet the rising demand for healthcare with locum tenens services.
Thank you for reading. Please check out our other blog posts, which feature highlights from all our provider interviews for National Locum Tenens Week 2024.
About VeloSource: VeloSource is a leading healthcare staffing and recruitment agency specializing in Locum Tenens services. By providing a vast network of highly qualified physicians, CRNAs, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners, VeloSource connects exceptional medical talent with healthcare facilities across the United States ensuring quality patient care and optimal workforce solutions.
(Posted by Mike Gianas, Senior Director of Marketing, VeloSource)
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