As a doctor, it can be difficult to get your work-life balance just right. Overworking can lead to tiredness, stress, and (in some cases) burnout. So it’s important to find a role that works around you.
By working as a locum doctor, you can create a flexible working life that allows you to make time for yourself. Below, we’ve outlined how and why working as a locum doctor will change your life for the better.
Enjoying Flexibility
Working as a locum doctor will give you a great deal of flexibility, plus more time to be with family and organise your life outside of work. For instance, it will allow you to…
- Take holidays as and when you want to
- Ensure that you can provide care for your children
- Take time off during the school holidays
- Give more care to elderly parents or relatives
- Spend more time with family and friends
- Take time out for special occasions
- Have time off to study for exams
- Ease yourself into semi-retirement
What’s more, at the start of your career, working as a locum doctor will offer you flexibility in terms of your career path. It’s very easy to fall into a routine and specialise in just one particular area of medicine, but by becoming a locum doctor, you will work in a wide range of situations that will give you a very broad skillset. You will be able to move around and see which specialism appeals to you, especially as a junior doctor. By learning different skills, you will be able to decide what you enjoy the most and specialise later in your preferred area if you would like to do so.
Changing Your Working Environment Regularly
If you are a more experienced doctor or a consultant, there are plenty of advantages that working as a locum doctor will offer you too, such as…
- Going to refreshing new places every few weeks
- Meeting new and highly skilled doctors all of the time
- Seeing different working systems
- Seeing different medical environments
- Caring for a wide variety of patients
- Experiencing different environments to see how you can further develop your skills
Advantages like this mean that you will never get bored and you will always have a new, exciting challenge to face. Being around a variety of highly skilled doctors will also mean that they will transfer their skills and knowledge to you every day. It is also a great opportunity to network with them. Each medical practice is different, so you will be able to gain a lot of perspective by working as a locum doctor.
Increasing Your Income
Working as a locum doctor enables a higher level of earning, unmatched by permanent doctors. If you’re happy to put extra hours in, you can opt for an on call position, which would allow you to earn extra money. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to work fewer hours – by only working Monday to Friday for example – you can still earn a high salary.
PAYE and Umbrella
PAYE and Umbrella are both excellent payment methods. If you opt for PAYE, you submit your timesheet reflecting the work you’ve completed and you are subsequently paid the salary you are owed after tax and national insurance. With Umbrella, the service provider receives the money, deducts taxes and expenses, then pays the candidate.
Both methods do offer a similar rate of pay overall, but with Umbrella it may seem as though you are receiving more. This is because the agreed rate includes national insurance, holiday pay, working time regulations, and other expenses.
Maintaining a Good Work-life Balance
So many doctors struggle to get their work-life balances right and take care of themselves. But by becoming a locum doctor you will be able to create a flexible work schedule and make time for yourself. Find a job that works around you by searching for the locum doctor positions available in your area.
