As we have spent time at career fairs and other physician shows the number one question we hear is “so what do locum tenens get paid?” Unfortunately, it’s not a simple question to answer. Many factors go into determining how a locums is paid. Locums can be done part-time in your own town or state, just like any other moonlighting job. It can be done full-time, traveling across the country or in extremely rural communities. All of these factors will change the rate of the locums pay.
CompHealth recently put together a comprehensive explanation of locums pay. Here are some of the highlights:
The four factors that most impact a locums pay rate are: demand for your specialty, location and type of facility, your skill set and patient load, and the types of shifts needed. All of these combine to create an hourly rate.
In addition, certain states will pay more than others. Often we speak with providers who think the biggest paychecks are going to come out of large metropolitan areas like New York and LA, however it is the more rural locations that usually offer the highest pay.
For an idea of specific rates by specialty, check out the specialty tool located on our homepage.
