Many physicians wonder what it’s like to begin a first locum tenens assignment. Starting any new job can be stressful, but the good news is that Weatherby Healthcare works to smooth the onboarding process with thorough preparation and behind-the-scenes support that, combined with on-site assistance, provides a seamless, stress-free experience. Read on to discover what you can expect during locum tenens onboarding.
Dedicated support
Support staff within Weatherby are dedicated to making physician onboarding for locum tenens assignments as painless as possible. Here’s who you will be working with:
Consultant
After helping you find just the right locum tenens position, your consultant will continue to support you during onboarding and throughout the assignment. The consultant is the primary point-of-contact for physicians, explains Ronney Davis, senior director at Weatherby Healthcare. “Even though there’s multiple people reaching out, you can always go back to your consultant,” he says. The consultant “can either disseminate information to other departments or get you that information — so if you wanted to just speak to them, you could.”
Travel concierge
Your travel concierge arranges every aspect of travel, from flights to rental cars and housing. The concierge will request your travel preferences to create the best itinerary possible. Weatherby pays for all travel-related costs for the physician, says Davis, including reimbursement for mileage, tolls, and parking if you’re driving your own vehicle. If you’re traveling with your family, your Weatherby travel concierge can help make those arrangements as well.
Medical staff services
This department assists with hospital privileging and related paperwork. “We can help with hospital privileging. We can sometimes prefill a lot of the information that we have, so that’s easier on the physician,” Davis explains. Your medical-staff services point person can also help locate paperwork or answer questions about what’s needed.
Resources
Before and during locum tenens assignments, physicians have access to myriad resources, including:
Physician portal
The physician portal houses all the information a physician will need for their assignment. “They’ll be able to log in at any time and see their exact flight information, their hotel accommodation, and the hospital’s information,” Davis says. “They’ll also have their first-day information, which will help them figure out where to go. Not only will they receive that from their consultant, but they’ll also be able to access it at any time in the portal as well — they’ll be able to see who they meet, where they meet, what time they meet.”
Emergency travel line
Physicians have direct contact information for their travel concierge in case any unforeseen challenges pop up. “If you need to change something, they can help with that. Let’s say you need to extend your rental car or stay at the location longer than the assignment, they do all that for you,” Davis says. “You would also have access to an emergency travel line in case you couldn’t reach your consultant or your travel concierge person.”
On-site point person
“Locum tenens physicians have a point person at the hospital,” Davis says. “That could be somebody in the hospital staff; it could be the person we work with directly; or it could just be someone who’s assigned to help with the orientation.”
Day-one support
All the information about first-day logistics is included in the physician portal, along with contact information for the on-site point person.
“The first day could be all orientation, where the physician is really just getting to know the other physicians who may work in that specialty or have some linkage to that specialty,” Davis explains. “They’ll meet the rest of the hospital staff they may be working with in some capacity.”
The length of the orientation will vary, depending on the hospital and the role, and will likely include a tour of the facility. Additionally, if you are unfamiliar with the hospital’s EMR system, the hospital will provide a day or two of training on the system, Davis says.
If questions or concerns arise during onboarding for locum tenens assignments, your consultant stands ready to troubleshoot, allay concerns, and ensure onboarding proceeds without a hitch.
Have questions about the locum tenens onboarding process? Give us a call at 954.343.3050 or reach out to your Weatherby consultant.
