Happy Locum Tenens Week! We’re so proud of the incredible impact that our providers have on patients across the U.S. This week, we’re sharing some of their stories.
Locum tenens providers are a crucial part of the fabric of our healthcare system, providing care for an estimated 7.5 million patients every year. NALTO reports that 90% of healthcare facilities rely on locum tenens, which means that without these providers, millions of patients would be left without access to quality patient care.
At Hayes Locums, we are so proud to partner with these providers in providing quality patient care. Witnessing the impact that their work has on patients’ lives––in stories like the one below––is what inspires us to do what we do.
In honor of Locum Tenens Week, we wanted to take the opportunity to share just a few of the stories of the providers who make a difference every day in the lives and communities of patients across the country.
Here are some of their stories:
“Locums is a great way to feel like you’re doing work that matters. Because [the places I’m sent] are places that really need a urologist. I’ve always felt very close to my patients. In locums, it’s less busy, even though there’s a bigger need, so I get to spend more time talking to people. Especially in a small town, it makes you feel a part of the community. I wasn’t expecting that. I saw it as a job–– I thought I would just do my work and then go home. And then I found myself going back home thinking, this is my community. I have to make sure I can be the best urologist for them as I can be, and care for these people.”
–Dr. Fenwa Milhouse, Locums Urologist
“[As a doctor], you just can’t turn it off. When you lay down your head at night, you can’t not worry about the patients you saw that day. I feel like when I look in the mirror every day, that I’ve helped. I’ve helped somebody through a tough time with their pregnancy.”
–Dr. James Scardo, Maternal Fetal Medicine Physician
“I share my story [of surviving cancer] with patients very freely, and they appreciate that. They like to hear that their doctor is someone who’s been at the other side of the stethoscope.
I have this philosophy that once you’ve mastered something, or something has changed you, it’s your duty to help others with it. I feel like I was given a gift, a second chance if you will, and I wanted to do something with it.”
–Dr. Taylor Barnett, Oncologist
“You know, I do a lot of carpentry, and there are certain tools that I really count on. A good doctor is like those tools. Especially in the ER. At these smaller hospitals, they might only have one or two doctors, so when your doctor is on vacation, or they get sick, what do you do? There’s not another doctor down the street that you can just call. When a hospital doesn’t have a doctor in the ER, they end up closing down.
As a locums in a rural hospital, you have to use everything in your toolkit. You have to make it work, so you make it work…[One of my locums assignments] was during the second peak of the pandemic. Hospitals were overflowing. You’d have critical patients, dying patients, and no place to send them because the larger hospitals many times were not accepting new patients, since they had too many to start with. Without a locums, people would have died. There’s no question.”
–Dr. Terry Jones, Emergency Medicine Physician
“My job [at my locums assignment] is to deal with dysregulated behavior and to reduce and hopefully eliminate the use of antipsychotics. And we’ve now dramatically reduced the use of antipsychotics in geriatric patients. It’s rewarding work. [For these patients], their horizon is close, their future is short. And we want them to be able to enjoy as much as they can for as long as they can without being over-sedated, and without being at risk of harm to self or others.
I love this work. If somebody asked me what my job is, it’s two things. One is to reduce shame, and the other is to instill hope. And I’m able to do that.”
“I once saw a nurse tell a patient that was scared: well you know what? I’m not scared. So just look at me. I try to put that into practice. I’ll say to my patients, I know you’re scared, because this is a life altering event for you. But for me, it’s a Tuesday. So you can be scared, but I’m not scared. That really seems to help them.”
“I always knew that I wanted to be a provider. I wanted to work at the bedside. And I wanted to treat the person. [As a cardiology NP], I get to see those pivotal moments between life and death: the heroic efforts that keep people alive…to me, those are some of the most human moments I’ve ever been around.”
To all of the amazing providers in the Hayes Locums community: thank you for everything you do! We’re inspired by you every single day.
