NC Healthcare Coverage Blog

Due to the business of general surgery getting harder, there is more demand for locum tenens jobs. On January 13, the WSJ reports that numerous surgeons are moving their focus from established practices to locum tenens. Some, like myself, may not know about  locum tenens. Well I found out that they are temporary  jobs in which a hospital pays a day rate for general surgeons to come in when needed.

So what specialties are more in demand than others? Staff Care, a national locum tenens company, revealed its’ report that was assembled last year by basing findings on 2007 data. It seems that most providers are seeking primary doctors, although the demand for surgeons is increasing.

During the staffing days that were demanded by the company’s clients, here is how the specialty areas were broken down:

* Primary Care, 41.5%

* Anesthesiologists, 20%

* Behavioral Health, 17.6%

* Radiology, 11.6%

* Surgery, 7.7%

* Dentistry, 1.6%

The report said that the total number of locum tenens provider days that were sought after by Staff Care clients rose by more than 20% between 2006 and 2007.