March 14, 2025 • 40 mins
Are you a CAA looking for a new job? Discover how Certified Anesthesiologist Assistants (CAAs) can revolutionize their careers with the growing number of locums opportunities. I sit down again with Sabrina Strange from LocumTenens.com to break down the exact process to land your dream job.
In this episode we discuss:
- common fears surrounding locums work
- the paperwork involved: state CAA licenses and hospital credentialing
- the money, including pay rates and travel arrangements
- how to make your first day go smoothly
LocumTenens.com has recently updated their platform to make it more accessible than ever for CAAs eager to explore the locums market. For anyone considering a dynamic career path with unmatched flexibility, this episode is packed with valuable insights and encouragement to explore the burgeoning CAA locums market.
Listen to my first interview with LocumTenens.com ep. 63
Interested in working locums? Receive 3 free resources to help you get started.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Awakened Anesthetist podcast,
the first podcast to highlightthe CAA experience.
I'm your host, Mary Jean, andI've been a certified
anesthesiologist assistant forclose to two decades.
Throughout my journey andstruggles I've searched for
guidance that includes my uniqueperspective as a CAA, At one of
(00:42):
my lowest one.
I encourage you to stick aroundand experience the power of
being in a community filled withvoices who sound like yours,
sharing experiences you neverbelieved possible.
I know you will find yourselfhere at the Awakened Anesthetist
podcast.
Welcome in, Think.
(01:03):
I first would love to have youintroduce yourself again,
Sabrina, and what your positionis at.
Locumtenantscom.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Hi, I'm Sabrina Strange.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
I am a production manager for the anesthesia team
on the recruiting who works atlocumtenantscom and their team
was looking to reach out to CAAsand found Awaken Anestis
podcast and you guys had askedto collaborate and to bring more
(01:35):
information about what it meansto work locums to the CAA
community and we have actuallyrecorded an initial episode.
It's in season four, so thisseason, if you're listening in
real time, episode 63.
Let me make sure, because nowmy brain's saying it's 65.
Yeah, so it's in season four,episode 63.
(01:56):
It's called Revolutionizing CAACareers Exploring Locum's Work
with LocumTenantscom and that'sa conversation between Sabrina
and I and we really lay thegroundwork on what working
locums means just generally foranyone and then also why the
locums market has sort of beenblown open to CAAs, especially
(02:18):
through LocumTenantscom andtheir recent interest in placing
CAAs more broadly and theirrecent interest in placing CAAs
more broadly, as we just lay alot of the language, the lingo
that you're gonna want to befamiliar with if you're
interested in working locums.
So I really recommend goingback and to listen to episode 63
before you listen to this one.
(02:39):
This one we're gonna get into alittle bit more of the nitty
gritty.
I've asked Sabrina to sort ofwalk through a mock scenario
with me and to go through someof the big questions in my mind
on what I would need to know andwhat the process would look and
feel like.
And so that's what thisepisode's going to be is to
really give sort of ademystified look at the entire
(03:01):
locums process and let's maybelay out what mock scenario we
want to go over.
I have a couple ideas, but isthere any sort of normal way
that a CAA approacheslocumtenantscom and wants to
work locums?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I think the most common scenario would be
that someone signs up on our jobboard, so they go to
locumtenantscom, they'rescrolling through the jobs and
they click that button that saysI'm interested.
And that's when I get an emailnotification saying hey, reach
out to Mary Jean, she'sinterested about this specific
job in Indianapolis, Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Okay, so we'll, let's just go on that and maybe I can
just play myself because,honestly, I contacted
locumtenantscom years ago when Iwas in my own job transitions
and looking to go from full-timeto part-time and thought
possibly working locums was theanswer and I was thinking locums
might be the bridge to workingin different ways, working
(03:59):
different shifts.
I was working in a very narrowbox in terms of what my employer
would let me work in terms ofhours and schedule.
And, let's say, I have thatmindset and I go to
locumtenantscom and I'm lookingon the job board and I find a
job the next state over.
That's interesting to me.
Can you just walk me throughwhat happens when I put my
(04:21):
information in for that job,let's say in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah.
So once you click I'minterested on our job board on
that job in Colorado, you'regoing to have a recruiter reach
out to you.
So our recruiters are based onstate territories, so the person
who's in charge of Colorado isgoing to reach out and try and
uncover kind of what it is thatyou're truly looking for.
So even if you don't know andyou tell them you know, I've got
(04:46):
some vacation coverage I'mthinking about something in the
long term.
In the back of that recruiter'smind they're sitting there
thinking, okay, mary Jean couldwork a few weeks in the
beginning and maybe a few moredown the road when she's
comfortable, and they're kind ofrunning through that list of
clients that match what you'relooking for.
So maybe you applied to aspecific job, but they're kind
of running through that list intheir brain of the clients they
(05:07):
work with and saying, wait, thismight not actually be the best
job, but I have this otherposition over here that fits
what you're looking for andthey're going to ask a lot of
questions.
It's going to feel like 20questions sometimes.
We do our best to make it notfeel like that, but it does.
Sometimes it not feel like that, but it does sometimes Just
kind of uncover that to help youfigure out which position is
(05:27):
the best one for you.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Okay, I get that.
I just think there is a lot offear sometimes that when you
reach out and make a request,that you're sort of tying
yourself in to going through thefull process.
Can you speak to CAAs who arenew to this process, or new to
even imagining that they couldbe working locums, but they're
scared to reach out because theydon't want to, like, overcommit
(05:51):
themselves or, you know, end upsaying yes to something that
they weren't quite ready for?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Absolutely.
I think that's a common fearfor anyone at any level,
starting locums.
So when you apply online,you're tied to nothing at that
point, not even to the recruiteryou're talking to.
There's a huge chance.
You've applied to Colorado.
You're talking to Tyler Zelnioand we realize maybe you don't
want to be in Colorado, maybeyou actually fit better at these
jobs in Indiana.
(06:16):
You're going to swap over tothe recruiter for Indiana and at
that point, if you do decideyou're interested in a position,
you're going to give explicitconsent to that recruiter.
Now they're going to make sureyou understand all the details
and that you're comfortable andyou might receive some pressure.
I'll be honest to apply for aposition because we know our
(06:37):
clients.
We know which ones are makingquick decisions so that if you
are interested, you need to movenow versus the clients that you
know they've got this ongoingsearch.
You can take a few weeks andthink about it.
We'll be honest with you onthat.
And even once you've said yes,I would like to present my
information to this job throughlocumtenancecom.
(06:58):
There's no, you know,commitment there.
You can take an interview.
You can talk to the client anddecide this isn't a fit for me
and say I'm not interestedanymore and walk away.
Now I do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I don't know how in-depth you want to go with
this, mary Jean, but Go and Iwill see, I'll give us all the
detail and then we'll tailor itback.
Yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
So one I think important thing to know about
working locum tenens and this isthrough any agency is that we
all work on NALTO regulationsand the facilities that we work
with also run through NALTOregulations.
So if you have presented withus to a facility, you have a
two-year kind of commitment towork through locumtenenscom if
(07:42):
you're going to work with, youknow, at that specific site or
facility.
Really, okay, there are someexceptions but for the most part
all agencies and all facilitiesfollow these regulations and
guidelines.
So you do kind of have thatlevel of commitment but no
actual, you know, forceful thingsaying if you interview for
(08:03):
this job and the facility wantsyou that you have to take it,
you're welcome to walk away atany point.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Okay.
But also that is maybe moreapplicable to CAAs, because in
the last episode I got allexcited because you were like oh
, locumtenantscom can help a CAAbreak into a new hospital,
break into a new hospital.
But what you're saying now isthat if locumtenantscom places
me, I would have to work forlocumtenantscom at that new
(08:32):
hospital for at least two yearsbefore I were to get hired
full-time by the hospital.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
No, I could see where that got confusing.
Okay, so no, the two years towork locums.
So if you wanted to work locumsto test out a facility for
three months, make sure it's agood fit for you, and then you
wanted to go permanent with them.
They have a place in every oneof our contracts.
Talking about how that works,Okay, you can go permanent
(08:58):
placement at any time.
There is a fee, just likeworking with a permanent agency
or permanent placement agency,but that's for the facility side
to pay if they're interested inbringing you on permanently.
So it's not something wenegotiate if we need to.
So if you decide I love thisfacility in Colorado facility
wants to bring you on long term,but then maybe they're not
(09:20):
willing to pay that permanentplacement fee, that's something
we advocate on your behalf andkind of step in and figure out
how to make this work for you.
But there's no time limit thatyou have to work locums.
We suggest 90 days.
That's our preference.
It gives you a good idea.
If you actually like thefacility, okay, but there's
nothing tying you to saying I'veworked there two weeks, I
decided I love it.
(09:40):
I want to go perm.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We're going to help you figure out how to do that.
That was not too much detail.
That was exactly the amount ofdetail I like to have, and why I
personally listen to podcastsis like I want to hear these
very detailed questions answeredso that I can go in with eyes
wide open.
So perfect, sabrina.
I love that.
Here's another.
One of my big questions orconcerns is that my
understanding of locums is thatthere's sort of these three main
(10:10):
things that you have to knowabout your own work schedule and
what you want out of a job,meaning you need to know what
schedule you want to work liketens eights, overnights, um.
You know day shift only, so youneed to know the schedule you
want.
You have to know your rate, sohow much you want to get paid,
and you need to know thelocation of where you want to
(10:32):
work.
You know that's sort of whatyou come to the job board with
that information and it seemsthat not always is there a
perfect fit that you'll find onthe job board, but maybe there's
a job that fits two of yourthree criteria and then you're
talking to a recruiter to sortof figure out how to meet in the
middle.
(10:52):
Can you talk to us about howmuch flexibility we need to have
in terms of those threeexpectations schedule, rate and
location schedule, rate andlocation.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
What I would say is that it's more for us to know
which of our clients areflexible.
So you can tell me back toColorado, I love this job.
It fits the location, it fitsthe rate, but maybe not the
shifts.
We'll be honest with you if wecan present you for a different
schedule than what's posted onour job board.
So when we post on our jobboard, it's going to be what our
client's ideal candidate lookslike.
Right, this is exactly whatthey're hoping for.
(11:31):
But we always know, or at leasthave a good idea on, how
flexible they are, and sometimesthat changes.
So you might reach out to me andsay I'm only going to do this
job if I can work 10-hour shiftsand I'll let you know.
Hey, you know, they just tookon somebody that didn't quite
fit what they're looking for andthey aren't going to be
flexible on another candidate.
(11:51):
I'll reach out to you if thatcandidate leaves or if that
doesn't end up working out,whereas if you'd been the first
candidate to apply, we wouldhave told you yes, they have
total flexibility on this.
So I would always take what'son the job board with a grain of
salt and ask a recruiter what'sgoing to be flexible and what's
not.
And sometimes, mary Jean, I'llbe honest, I'll tell you I'm
going to present you over for 10hours, and then the client
(12:13):
comes back and it's like, hey,no, it's eight hours or nothing,
and I'll have to, you know,follow my sword and tell you I
thought they were flexible butthey weren't.
So that does happen and I wantthat to be something people are
aware of.
But we're always going to tellyou what we think is going to be
best to present over to theclient Okay, and that's because
the hospital is your client,just like we're your client.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
So you're kind of trying to meet their needs and
meet our needs and we're likemeeting in the middle is kind of
what's happening when a CAAtalks to a recruiter.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So that recruiter is going to be advocating on your
behalf to a recruiter Correct,so that recruiter is going to be
advocating on your behalf,whereas I have a sales
counterpart that's doing thesame thing for the facility and
saying, hey, Sabrina, we can'tpresent this person because
they're not going to haveflexibility anymore.
So there is that kind of hiddenthird person that you're not
seeing behind the scenes unlessI'm out at the office, and then
you're probably going to betalking to them because they're
handling it for me.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I gotcha, god, this is so good.
I love hearing all of thisbehind the scenes.
I love that you're so openabout it too, like it just
really makes it feel safer,because, of course, this is like
a huge decision, this is somepeople's full-time income and it
just feels like you're.
You know they talk about thegolden handcuffs of a full-time
job that you know our societyhas held that up as like what
(13:24):
the most safety is, and soanything other than that you
know our society has held thatup as like what the most safety
is, and so anything other thanthat even going part time,
especially in the CAA market, israre and also feels maybe not
as safe.
And then locums feels likeanother step into sort of the
unknown or not as safe.
So I just love the clarityyou're providing.
I'm getting excited for peoplewho are listening the clarity
(13:44):
you're providing.
I'm getting excited for peoplewho are listening.
Okay, let's talk about thedreaded paperwork.
Okay, let's keep going with ourmock.
So this is someone who maybehas found someone a job
interesting in Colorado.
We have found a match.
The CAA has worked with therecruiter and found a job in
(14:06):
Colorado that's going to meettheir needs in terms of schedule
, hourly rate and the locationthat they're wanting.
And now we are faced with tworeally paperwork processes, if
I'm understanding it correct thestate licensing, so getting my
Colorado CAA license, and thenhospital credentialing.
(14:27):
Start us on where we need tostart talking about for either
one of those.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
So I'm going to start with one that you haven't even
thought of and it's a thirdprocess.
However, it's kind of all oneprocess really.
So we actually have an internalcredentialing application.
So if somebody is new to Locums, we're probably going to be
talking to you about this on thefirst phone call.
We want you to fill out thisinternal credentialing
(14:57):
application.
If we're presenting you to ourclients because we do things
like background checks, we getreferences, some of those
beginning things, and then weget to give you that gold star
on your presentation that letsour client know hey, we did due
diligence, we know a lot aboutthis candidate, and that kind of
gives you that like upper handover a candidate that hasn't
credentialed with us internallyyet.
But we use that internalcredentialing application to
(15:18):
pre-fill everything else pastthat.
So you upload your CV.
We have these fancy littlethings that read your CV and
fill out part of the paperworkfor you.
You go in and fill out the rest.
I'd say it takes about 30minutes and then on our end,
within 48 hours to two weeks,depending on how crazy we are
and how quick you are trying toget presented to jobs.
(15:40):
We're running those backprocesses and kind of giving you
that gold stamp and then, ifyou are ready to get that
Colorado license, we takeeverything from that application
and pre-fill out the Coloradoapplication for you and take off
that weight and burden of thatpart of the process.
And then we send it to you withhighlights and say, hey, here's
(16:01):
what we don't know.
We need your help on thesesections.
And then we're talking to theColorado board and helping them
do the verifications that theyneed to do, helping them get the
references back that they need.
We have an in-house licensingteam dedicated to just that.
They're great at what they do.
They take as much of the burdenof that licensing process from
(16:22):
you as possible.
Sounds lovely.
Yes, we try.
We can't always take all of theburden, but as much as we can.
And then we also have a teamdedicated to the internal
credentialing process at thedifferent facilities.
So we have a privileging teamdedicated to just that.
A lot of our people are eitherdedicated to certain states, so
(16:43):
they work with the samefacilities over and over again,
or they're dedicated to ourlarger facilities we work with
because they're crazy processesthat they know the ins and outs
of, but they're doing the samething.
They're taking that internalcredentialing form, pre-filling
everything that they can for you, sending it to you for
signatures and any additionalthings needed and then running
(17:05):
that process for you.
They're talking to the MSOoffice and then saying, hey, the
MSO, let us know that this onelittle thing is needed.
Or hey, your references aren'tgetting back.
Do you mind nudging them for us?
But we're handling, I would say, 75% of that process.
Wow.
Now, of course, there's somefacilities that still reach out
to you even though we say, hey,reach out to us.
(17:26):
So sometimes you have toredirect back to us, but we're
always going to do everythingthat we can, within our own
rights, do for you.
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Okay.
So let me add a little bit moreclarity, just in terms of the
paperwork, because I know thisis something that can really
overwhelm, or has overwhelmed me, as I've taken new jobs and at
one point I was licensed inFlorida and did that all myself
and it is a major, majorundertaking.
How long from the time where Isay, yes, I want this job in
(17:57):
Colorado, the Colorado team andLocum Tens gets me that job and
now I have to go through thestate and the hospital
credentialing process.
How long does that take?
How many emails are we goingback and forth Like what am I
looking at in terms of headache?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
really so?
The easy answer is on average,90 days, okay.
However, we all know thingsdon't always go perfectly on
average, so that's somethingyour recruiter will be talking
with you about.
From the time that you presentand the time you say yes to this
job, you will know if it's a.
I mean, we have jobs that youcould be credentialed in as
(18:34):
quickly as 48 hours, all the wayto 120 days, 150 days.
The average is 90.
So you can pretty much assumethat, unless told otherwise, but
we're always going to becommunicating that with you and
the licensing is it depends.
Yes, there's no great answerthere, especially because CAA
licenses aren't uniform acrossthe country.
(18:56):
Every state has their ownguidelines of what type of
license you're getting.
We have a pretty little chartthat tells us the average for
each of those.
So, once again, we're going tobe telling that to you up front,
but it could be anywherebetween two weeks to 150 days to
get a license.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Okay, yes, and I just want to clarify even further,
because these two processes thestate licensing so to receive my
CAA, state license is anentirely different person.
It's like a it's a statedepartment versus hospital
credentialing is you know thefive people in HR who are doing
hospital credentialing?
And they're two very separatethings.
(19:37):
And you're sayinglocumintendentscom does
everything they can to help us,but you don't control those two
agencies.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Correct.
I wish we did, especially forlicenses.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yes, I'm sure, and I'm also thinking that if I'm a
CAA and I want to work just aweek in Colorado like I'm not
ready to take a big commitment,and maybe we've worked together
and found a Colorado hospitalthat's going to allow me to work
three of my eight weeks of paidvacation for my traditional job
(20:09):
I'm going to have to do thisentire process for just those
three weeks as well.
Right, I need my Colorado statelicense and I need my hospital
credentialing.
Correct, correct.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Okay, yes, so you're going to need that.
The only caveat I'll give youis some hospitals will allow us
to apply for temporaryprivileges, which are going to
be a little bit easier to get ifyou're working shorter term,
and some hospitals let us applyfor temporary privileges for a
three-month assignment and wedon't have to apply for full
privileges until you've workedmore.
(20:41):
That depends on the red tape ofthe hospital itself.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Okay, Okay, Thank you .
There's so much nitty-grittyhere and I wanted to get into
another big bucket of questions,comments and concerns that I
had in my own brain, and I'msure other people do, which is
okay.
So I make this leap I'm leavingmy, let's say, full-time job
and I'm going to work athree-month locums contract and
(21:07):
want to make that my full-timeincome.
Where is my health insurancecoming from?
What about my 401k match that Iwas receiving at my traditional
job?
Those things that are reallythe golden handcuffs that people
talk about that seem to mattera lot.
How does locumtenantscom helpus transition into this really
(21:29):
freelance?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
method?
Yes, this is a question I getoften from people first starting
to think about locums andluckily, we have done a lot of
research for you.
We can't provide these thingsourselves, so we have a whole
section of locumcannonscom, theactual website, dedicated to
resources.
So the top people that we wouldrecommend that you reach out to
about health benefits, taxquestions, all compiled in one
(21:55):
area for you.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Very good.
And, yeah, I just think I'm notsurprised a lot of people come
at you with those questions,because I think that is one of
the stumbling blocks where itjust feels like, oh, this is too
much.
I just you know what I mean, Ijust can't.
It's too overwhelming, and it'sjust piece by piece.
You'll have to take it onbecause it all does ultimately
need to be done.
Yes, okay, let's keep going.
(22:20):
I think a lot of CAAs listeninghave this experience where you
are on the job for the first dayLike you're just a traditional
W-2 worker, this is your firstfull-time job, and you show up
in, you know, like businesscasual attire, ready to do
whatever you think your firstday is, like business casual
attire, ready to do whatever youthink your first day is.
And they're like great, whydon't you take your pumps and
(22:41):
put little shoe covers and justgo in the OR and you're going to
get the anesthesia your veryfirst day and we're all like,
wait a minute, what?
There's nothing, there's noorientation, and I sort of made
that joke.
I think it's getting better,but I think a lot of CAAs, a lot
of healthcare professionals,probably have that experience.
How does locumtendantscomknowing that we're going to be
completely fish out of water ourfirst day.
(23:02):
How do you help that transition?
Is there communication on whatfirst day will look like?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I am so excited to answer this question because we
just launched our first app.
So the locumtendantscom app hasreally made this a better first
day situation for all of theclinicians that work with us.
So we have a section in the appcalled your welcome packet.
So within that section of ourapp, it's going to tell you when
(23:30):
you need to be to the facility.
If we know, like the specificsof where you need to park, who
you're meeting, their contactinformation, any details we have
on that first day will be laidout there for you in the app,
which is great.
We have really worked onrefining these first day
reporting instructions forclinicians and we keep a draft
(23:51):
somewhere that says thisfacility always says that these
are the people you need to reachout to.
Here's what we've learned fromother clinicians that have had
their first day that we shouldprobably tell others about.
So as much information as wecan provide we do in that
section, as well as information,like you mentioned, just your
first day.
But how are you getting there?
What's your flight information,what's your hotel information,
(24:14):
what things go wrong?
Since we're booking those foryou, it's common that you should
probably know about all livewithin our app and then you have
contact within the app to our24 seven customer care line.
If something goes wrong yourfirst day and you're like I
don't know where to go or what'shappening, you can reach out to
your recruiter via that app oryou can even reach out to that
(24:34):
24 seven line line.
Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Why is the first day in medicine always so chaotic,
Like?
This is a theme.
If you guys are tackling this,then clearly this is not just a
CAA experience.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
It is definitely across the board, for every
specialty, every level providers.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
You would think someone is thinking about this
and now you are.
So thank you.
Okay, you kind of tiptoed intomy last question and where I
want to spend just a bit of timebecause I do think when CAAs
hear about locums, you thinkmoney, like you think, oh, these
really high hourly rates andI'll be able to make more money
than I can at a traditional job.
(25:12):
And you mentioned two thingstravel, like how are you going
to drive to the OR on the firstday and flight information if
you have to fly to this location, to a new state, which is part
of the quote, unquote money, butseparate.
Where do you want to start withmoney?
Do we want to start with hourlyrate and how set in stone it is
if we negotiate?
(25:33):
Where do you want to start withthis sort of big conversation?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Let's start with the ugly one.
First, the money.
That's what people want to know, that hourly rate, yes.
So from the moment you'retalking about your first job
with a recruiter, we're going towant to know what hourly rate
you're looking for so that wehave an idea and we'll be honest
with you if you're beingunrealistic.
I've definitely told someonebefore.
(25:56):
If you are getting that thatyou say you are right now an
hour, keep that job for as longas you can.
I'm not hearing about rates likethat in the industry right now,
but each of our recruiters isvery well versed in the specific
hospitals they work with, oftenas well as their state, and can
kind of give you an idea.
If you want to be in Colorado,you're going to need to be
around X rate.
(26:17):
So if you're looking to makemore than that, let's talk about
other states where we canactually get that, because
you're definitely going to seethere are certain areas of the
country that are going to makemore than others and it kind of
goes hand in hand with cost ofliving.
Not always necessarily, but youcan stand your ground on rate
and we'll be as honest as we canwith you.
We try to be very transparentabout rates with providers,
(26:40):
especially if this is theirfirst time working locums.
And as soon as you know if itisn't right now I can't find you
a job in Colorado making that,I'm going to keep your name on a
list somewhere and as soon as Ihave a job in Colorado that can
make that, I'm going to becalling Mary Jean hey, finally
got a job that's going to makethis, but we'll definitely let
you know.
Hey, we can't present to thisclient at that rate, or if we
(27:01):
think we can, we'll let you know.
This is outside of what they'reapproving right now, but I'm
happy to advocate and see if Ican get it for you and present
at something higher than we'renormally presenting at.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yeah, and I think follow-up question is how do I
know what my base rate is?
And just to add a little bitmore context, we're talking in
February 2025 and I work PRN ata hospital 20 minutes down the
road think it's somewhere around175 or 180.
And so just within you know thecity I live there's this
(27:40):
difference and that's for PRN,that's not for locum.
So how do I who, how do I findout what even is my rate?
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, so definitely depends on each facility, which
is why I would say yourrecruiters are going to know the
average on each facility.
They all have their kind ofhighs and lows of what they're
willing to approve and what theyaren't.
But they're also looking atthings like candidates
availability.
So if you're working PRN, Imight not be able to get you as
high of a rate as I could forfull time Right, there's so many
(28:10):
things that are kind offloating out there that make a
difference.
But I would be honest with yourrecruiter If you don't know
what rate you should be comingin at, we're going to let you
know what we're seeing onaverage so you can at least get
that baseline.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Got it Okay.
And then talk to me abouttravel and lodging and I assume
it's on top of the hourly rate.
How is that figured?
Is that negotiable?
Let's say we're again, we'retalking about this Colorado job.
In this mock scenario, I livein Missouri, I'm going to have
to fly there or drive there howdoes that work?
(28:46):
And I'm going to need some sortof hotel room.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Yes.
So I would say, if you'rethinking about travel and
lodging, there's three easy waysto think about it.
The most common is going to bethat we are covering your travel
and lodging and rental car.
So we are going to say, uponpresentation to this hospital,
mary Jean is going to need roundtrip flights, a rental car and
a hotel and we will be bookingall of that for you.
(29:12):
We'll let you.
I mean, if there's options inthe area maybe there's a Hilton
and a Hyatt, we know that theclient will approve both we're
going to send it to you and saywhich would you prefer to be at?
We don't always have that luxury, especially since a lot of
locums assignments can be insmall areas.
But if we do have that luxury,there's a travel team that's
reaching out to you and lettingyou know.
But that's probably the mostcommon is that we're going to be
(29:35):
covering it and you're going toknow kind of what's getting
booked ahead of time and havesome say as much as we can Like.
If there's two different timesto fly out, we're going to send
you both of those flights andsay let us know which one you
want us to book.
You're typically going totravel in the night before you
start and then the day after anassignment ends, so that I would
(29:56):
say that's industry standardafter an assignment ends, so
that I would say that's industrystandard.
And one fun thing that I'lljust throw in here so if you
have that you know Delta loyaltynumber or the different flight
or rental car hotels that haveyou rack up points we take those
numbers for you and plug theminto all of the things that
we're booking on your behalf, soyou're still racking up some
(30:17):
free travel down the road, eventhough we're paying for that
flight.
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
It's a fine thing no one thinks of.
Yes, I don't have any of those,but it sounds like I would if I
did.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yes, the second most common thing you're gonna see
and this is something you willknow as soon as you talk to a
recruiter about a job is anall-inclusive rate, meaning
you're going to be receiving ahigher hourly rate, but you will
be in charge of paying for yourtravel and lodging as well as
(30:47):
booking it on your own.
Now, not to say that if youwere like, hey, sabrina, I know
nothing about this area, can youhelp me?
I would absolutely have mytravel team reach out and be
like here's the hotels that wetypically have people at.
We're still here to help you,but it all comes out of your
pocket to pay for.
And then the third option is atravel stipend.
So this is something you couldrequest yourself upon
(31:10):
presentation, if you prefer.
It's on the.
I wouldn't say it never happens, but it's more rare that we
have a client requestingstipends instead, and that means
that you would be receiving$1,400 a week to book your own
hotel rental car flight, andsometimes it's that you have a
(31:32):
lodging stipend and then westill pay for a flight and
rental car.
That's the most confusingoption.
That is something you'll see aswell.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
And that is dependent on the hospital client, meaning
that's just the way thehospital structures their deal.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Yes, if they prefer it, that's.
I don't really know why.
We have some clients thatprefer it, honestly, but they do
.
But typically it's somethinglike a clinician would prefer to
book something on their own.
It just makes their liveseasier than they are the ones
requesting that.
They get that stipend instead,and sometimes it benefits you.
If the flight and the hotel arecheaper right now, you might
(32:07):
pocket a little bit of extramoney and then there's going to
be times where you're paying alittle bit more out of pocket.
Traditionally, I see it forpeople who are wanting to stay
somewhere nicer than the HiltonHyatt kind of level.
We typically book clinicians at, or like a first class flight.
They want you to cover you knowwhat would be the typical
business part of it.
Wait is business.
(32:28):
Yeah, coach, we book an economylevel flight and they want a
first class flight so that thiskind of you know covers that
portion for them.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Gotcha, okay, yeah, bite, so that this kind of you
know covers that portion forthem.
Gotcha, okay, yeah.
And because you were talkingabout hotels and I was thinking
well, the people who work locumsthat I know are staying in more
Airbnbs.
So they either are working withlocumtenscom or their locums
provider to, as opposed to theHilton, get me this Airbnb or
they likely have a stipend.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Yes, and I think something important to add there
if we are presenting you for anassignment, you can let me know
.
Hey, I would really like ahotel with a kitchen or kind of
those nuances.
Hey, I'm going to be inColorado.
I would like a four-wheel driverental car.
We can request that as soon asyour presentation with the
client, so that we know upfrontMary Jean prefers these things.
(33:18):
Are you okay with coveringthese things?
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Okay, I have a personal question.
We've gotten so far into this.
Now I'm all like, as I said, Iwas looking at locums a couple
of years ago and now I'm in aPRN position where I control my
schedule.
And now I'm in a PRN positionwhere I control my schedule.
How I guess I'm still, I feellike, maybe jaded that a
(33:50):
hospital is not going to want tohire me for just a week or, you
know, two weeks every othermonth or something Like is that,
does that happen, or is it theywant?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
people for longer than that.
It depends on the hospitalitself.
People for longer than that.
It depends on the hospitalitself.
We have some hospitals thatwill bring people on for as
little as one day and then somethat say, if you can't work at
least two weeks a month, we'renot open to that conversation.
So it really is all over theboard on what we see and it's
(34:14):
their red tape.
Sometimes it's not even theanesthesia department saying
this is what it is.
Some hospitals have guidelinessaying you have to work at least
as much for it to be worth itto credential Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yes, as we talked about the very bureaucratic
paperwork process.
Yes, what else?
I feel like we've covered somuch aside from like filling out
the paperwork for people, but Ijust really wanted to get into
the weeds a little bit on thisto just really blow open CAA's
understanding of what's possibleor, if you're an SAA who's
(34:46):
listening, anything else aboutthe process that we've not
touched on that you feel like weneed to know to make the best
decision for our job.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
I kind of think honestly.
I feel like we've gotten into alot of the nitty gritty of what
it really looks like to start.
I can't think of anything else,but you know as much as we just
had a candid conversation, Iwould say this is what 90% of my
phone calls sound like.
So if you are listening and youwere like Sabrina didn't cover
(35:15):
this, but I'm really curious OneI recruit for the state of
Hawaii and Utah so you can applyto one of my jobs and talk to
me at any time.
But I would don't be afraid toask these questions to a
recruiter, even if you reallydon't think locums is for you
and you just have a few quickquestions.
It's always going to be worthour time to jump on the phone
and answer questions with you.
(35:37):
So don't ever hesitate to calltext email.
We do it all 24-7.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Wow, awesome.
That really is encouragingbecause I do want CAAs to find
what I call their dream life.
I want everyone to be able touse their CAA career to live the
life that's uniquely meant forthem, and being able to have the
flexibility that locums allowsfor just really allows you to
think what's possible for me,what do I want to do?
(36:04):
Do I want to travel?
Where do I want to live?
And I'm still stuck on the factthat I could see CAAs who want
to work in their home state thatwe maybe aren't licensed in,
and just somehow being able tokind of keep pushing those
buttons and those levers becauseyou know they want to work
locums and you guys are willingto kind of help push some of
that through and, as a CAA,that's really, really important.
(36:27):
That matters a lot to us andour profession.
So I just I'm really gratefulto speak with you, sabrina.
It's fun, as always, and, yeah,totally a candid conversation.
I feel like we're buddies atthis point.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Absolutely.
And, mary Jean, I will beseeing you soon at the Quad A
conference, so if anyonelistening to wants to come talk
to me in person, I will be thereand I look forward to getting
to meet some CAAs for the firsttime.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Are you coming alone or are you coming with anyone?
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I will be coming with Riley Patton, who is our
Indiana and Illinois recruiter.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Awesome, yes, well, I will absolutely be there and,
yes, I will stop by so we cansee each other in person.
Cool, wonderful, all right.
Well, thank you again, sabrina,and we will talk soon.
Awesome Thanks, mary Jean.
(37:21):
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand conversation about the locum
tenants market withlocumtenantscom.
If you are interested inpursuing locums or just maybe
looking at the locumtenantscomwebsite just to see what's
available, I'm going to havesome links in the show notes so
you can peruse in the privacy ofyour own home without anyone
(37:43):
contacting you.
And also, sabrina gave me alink that if you put in your
information, in exchange youwill get three downloadable
resources that will help youmake some early decisions in
your locum's journey, will helpyou make some early decisions in
your locums journey.
I did it myself.
Basically, they ask you foryour name and email address and
(38:03):
then you can click on therewhether you want to have a
recruiter call you.
That's definitely one of thethings in this market that can
be a bit overwhelming is thatonce you give your name out and
your information, you do tend toreceive a lot of recruiter
calls.
So I like that they give us theoption in this link to choose
whether a recruiter reached outto us or not.
(38:24):
I was just really impressed bySabrina and this company, and
I'm very interested to see howlocumtenenscom can help build
the CAA profession in terms ofgetting us into new hospitals,
possibly new states or firsthospitals in new states.
That was all very exciting tome and just goes to show how
(38:45):
much momentum the CAA professionhas.
Right now, at this particularmoment, it's such a wonderful
time to have found out about theprofession.
If you are a AA student or aprospective, I really encourage
you to look back into some ofthese other episodes here at
Awakened Anesthetist to make themost informed decision for
yourself about this career.
(39:06):
You can also follow me onInstagram at Awakened
Anesthetist.
I show behind the scenes andjust give you some real life
sort of feel on what it is to bea CAA.
And the most important thingyou could do for the podcast
truly is just to directly sharethis episode right now with a
friend, a CAA or another AAstudent in your life.
(39:27):
Tell them why you loved thisepisode, why you think they'll
love this episode, encouragethem to take a listen and follow
along.
All right, let's talk soon,y'all.
Welcome to the Awakened Anesthetist podcast,
the first podcast to highlightthe CAA experience.
I'm your host, Mary Jean, andI've been a certified
anesthesiologist assistant forclose to two decades.
Throughout my journey andstruggles I've searched for
guidance that includes my uniqueperspective as a CAA, At one of
(00:42):
my lowest one.
I encourage you to stick aroundand experience the power of
being in a community filled withvoices who sound like yours,
sharing experiences you neverbelieved possible.
I know you will find yourselfhere at the Awakened Anesthetist
podcast.
Welcome in, Think.
(01:03):
I first would love to have youintroduce yourself again,
Sabrina, and what your positionis at.
Locumtenantscom.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Hi, I'm Sabrina Strange.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
I am a production manager for the anesthesia team
on the recruiting who works atlocumtenantscom and their team
was looking to reach out to CAAsand found Awaken Anestis
podcast and you guys had askedto collaborate and to bring more
(01:35):
information about what it meansto work locums to the CAA
community and we have actuallyrecorded an initial episode.
It's in season four, so thisseason, if you're listening in
real time, episode 63.
Let me make sure, because nowmy brain's saying it's 65.
Yeah, so it's in season four,episode 63.
(01:56):
It's called Revolutionizing CAACareers Exploring Locum's Work
with LocumTenantscom and that'sa conversation between Sabrina
and I and we really lay thegroundwork on what working
locums means just generally foranyone and then also why the
locums market has sort of beenblown open to CAAs, especially
(02:18):
through LocumTenantscom andtheir recent interest in placing
CAAs more broadly and theirrecent interest in placing CAAs
more broadly, as we just lay alot of the language, the lingo
that you're gonna want to befamiliar with if you're
interested in working locums.
So I really recommend goingback and to listen to episode 63
before you listen to this one.
(02:39):
This one we're gonna get into alittle bit more of the nitty
gritty.
I've asked Sabrina to sort ofwalk through a mock scenario
with me and to go through someof the big questions in my mind
on what I would need to know andwhat the process would look and
feel like.
And so that's what thisepisode's going to be is to
really give sort of ademystified look at the entire
(03:01):
locums process and let's maybelay out what mock scenario we
want to go over.
I have a couple ideas, but isthere any sort of normal way
that a CAA approacheslocumtenantscom and wants to
work locums?
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Yeah, I think the most common scenario would be
that someone signs up on our jobboard, so they go to
locumtenantscom, they'rescrolling through the jobs and
they click that button that saysI'm interested.
And that's when I get an emailnotification saying hey, reach
out to Mary Jean, she'sinterested about this specific
job in Indianapolis, Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Okay, so we'll, let's just go on that and maybe I can
just play myself because,honestly, I contacted
locumtenantscom years ago when Iwas in my own job transitions
and looking to go from full-timeto part-time and thought
possibly working locums was theanswer and I was thinking locums
might be the bridge to workingin different ways, working
(03:59):
different shifts.
I was working in a very narrowbox in terms of what my employer
would let me work in terms ofhours and schedule.
And, let's say, I have thatmindset and I go to
locumtenantscom and I'm lookingon the job board and I find a
job the next state over.
That's interesting to me.
Can you just walk me throughwhat happens when I put my
(04:21):
information in for that job,let's say in Colorado?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah.
So once you click I'minterested on our job board on
that job in Colorado, you'regoing to have a recruiter reach
out to you.
So our recruiters are based onstate territories, so the person
who's in charge of Colorado isgoing to reach out and try and
uncover kind of what it is thatyou're truly looking for.
So even if you don't know andyou tell them you know, I've got
(04:46):
some vacation coverage I'mthinking about something in the
long term.
In the back of that recruiter'smind they're sitting there
thinking, okay, mary Jean couldwork a few weeks in the
beginning and maybe a few moredown the road when she's
comfortable, and they're kind ofrunning through that list of
clients that match what you'relooking for.
So maybe you applied to aspecific job, but they're kind
of running through that list intheir brain of the clients they
(05:07):
work with and saying, wait, thismight not actually be the best
job, but I have this otherposition over here that fits
what you're looking for andthey're going to ask a lot of
questions.
It's going to feel like 20questions sometimes.
We do our best to make it notfeel like that, but it does.
Sometimes it not feel like that, but it does sometimes Just
kind of uncover that to help youfigure out which position is
(05:27):
the best one for you.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Okay, I get that.
I just think there is a lot offear sometimes that when you
reach out and make a request,that you're sort of tying
yourself in to going through thefull process.
Can you speak to CAAs who arenew to this process, or new to
even imagining that they couldbe working locums, but they're
scared to reach out because theydon't want to, like, overcommit
(05:51):
themselves or, you know, end upsaying yes to something that
they weren't quite ready for?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Absolutely.
I think that's a common fearfor anyone at any level,
starting locums.
So when you apply online,you're tied to nothing at that
point, not even to the recruiteryou're talking to.
There's a huge chance.
You've applied to Colorado.
You're talking to Tyler Zelnioand we realize maybe you don't
want to be in Colorado, maybeyou actually fit better at these
jobs in Indiana.
(06:16):
You're going to swap over tothe recruiter for Indiana and at
that point, if you do decideyou're interested in a position,
you're going to give explicitconsent to that recruiter.
Now they're going to make sureyou understand all the details
and that you're comfortable andyou might receive some pressure.
I'll be honest to apply for aposition because we know our
(06:37):
clients.
We know which ones are makingquick decisions so that if you
are interested, you need to movenow versus the clients that you
know they've got this ongoingsearch.
You can take a few weeks andthink about it.
We'll be honest with you onthat.
And even once you've said yes,I would like to present my
information to this job throughlocumtenancecom.
(06:58):
There's no, you know,commitment there.
You can take an interview.
You can talk to the client anddecide this isn't a fit for me
and say I'm not interestedanymore and walk away.
Now I do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I don't know how in-depth you want to go with
this, mary Jean, but Go and Iwill see, I'll give us all the
detail and then we'll tailor itback.
Yeah, Okay.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
So one I think important thing to know about
working locum tenens and this isthrough any agency is that we
all work on NALTO regulationsand the facilities that we work
with also run through NALTOregulations.
So if you have presented withus to a facility, you have a
two-year kind of commitment towork through locumtenenscom if
(07:42):
you're going to work with, youknow, at that specific site or
facility.
Really, okay, there are someexceptions but for the most part
all agencies and all facilitiesfollow these regulations and
guidelines.
So you do kind of have thatlevel of commitment but no
actual, you know, forceful thingsaying if you interview for
(08:03):
this job and the facility wantsyou that you have to take it,
you're welcome to walk away atany point.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
Okay.
But also that is maybe moreapplicable to CAAs, because in
the last episode I got allexcited because you were like oh
, locumtenantscom can help a CAAbreak into a new hospital,
break into a new hospital.
But what you're saying now isthat if locumtenantscom places
me, I would have to work forlocumtenantscom at that new
(08:32):
hospital for at least two yearsbefore I were to get hired
full-time by the hospital.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
No, I could see where that got confusing.
Okay, so no, the two years towork locums.
So if you wanted to work locumsto test out a facility for
three months, make sure it's agood fit for you, and then you
wanted to go permanent with them.
They have a place in every oneof our contracts.
Talking about how that works,Okay, you can go permanent
(08:58):
placement at any time.
There is a fee, just likeworking with a permanent agency
or permanent placement agency,but that's for the facility side
to pay if they're interested inbringing you on permanently.
So it's not something wenegotiate if we need to.
So if you decide I love thisfacility in Colorado facility
wants to bring you on long term,but then maybe they're not
(09:20):
willing to pay that permanentplacement fee, that's something
we advocate on your behalf andkind of step in and figure out
how to make this work for you.
But there's no time limit thatyou have to work locums.
We suggest 90 days.
That's our preference.
It gives you a good idea.
If you actually like thefacility, okay, but there's
nothing tying you to saying I'veworked there two weeks, I
decided I love it.
(09:40):
I want to go perm.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We're going to help you figure out how to do that.
That was not too much detail.
That was exactly the amount ofdetail I like to have, and why I
personally listen to podcastsis like I want to hear these
very detailed questions answeredso that I can go in with eyes
wide open.
So perfect, sabrina.
I love that.
Here's another.
One of my big questions orconcerns is that my
understanding of locums is thatthere's sort of these three main
(10:10):
things that you have to knowabout your own work schedule and
what you want out of a job,meaning you need to know what
schedule you want to work liketens eights, overnights, um.
You know day shift only, so youneed to know the schedule you
want.
You have to know your rate, sohow much you want to get paid,
and you need to know thelocation of where you want to
(10:32):
work.
You know that's sort of whatyou come to the job board with
that information and it seemsthat not always is there a
perfect fit that you'll find onthe job board, but maybe there's
a job that fits two of yourthree criteria and then you're
talking to a recruiter to sortof figure out how to meet in the
middle.
(10:52):
Can you talk to us about howmuch flexibility we need to have
in terms of those threeexpectations schedule, rate and
location schedule, rate andlocation.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
What I would say is that it's more for us to know
which of our clients areflexible.
So you can tell me back toColorado, I love this job.
It fits the location, it fitsthe rate, but maybe not the
shifts.
We'll be honest with you if wecan present you for a different
schedule than what's posted onour job board.
So when we post on our jobboard, it's going to be what our
client's ideal candidate lookslike.
Right, this is exactly whatthey're hoping for.
(11:31):
But we always know, or at leasthave a good idea on, how
flexible they are, and sometimesthat changes.
So you might reach out to me andsay I'm only going to do this
job if I can work 10-hour shiftsand I'll let you know.
Hey, you know, they just tookon somebody that didn't quite
fit what they're looking for andthey aren't going to be
flexible on another candidate.
(11:51):
I'll reach out to you if thatcandidate leaves or if that
doesn't end up working out,whereas if you'd been the first
candidate to apply, we wouldhave told you yes, they have
total flexibility on this.
So I would always take what'son the job board with a grain of
salt and ask a recruiter what'sgoing to be flexible and what's
not.
And sometimes, mary Jean, I'llbe honest, I'll tell you I'm
going to present you over for 10hours, and then the client
(12:13):
comes back and it's like, hey,no, it's eight hours or nothing,
and I'll have to, you know,follow my sword and tell you I
thought they were flexible butthey weren't.
So that does happen and I wantthat to be something people are
aware of.
But we're always going to tellyou what we think is going to be
best to present over to theclient Okay, and that's because
the hospital is your client,just like we're your client.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
So you're kind of trying to meet their needs and
meet our needs and we're likemeeting in the middle is kind of
what's happening when a CAAtalks to a recruiter.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
So that recruiter is going to be advocating on your
behalf to a recruiter Correct,so that recruiter is going to be
advocating on your behalf,whereas I have a sales
counterpart that's doing thesame thing for the facility and
saying, hey, Sabrina, we can'tpresent this person because
they're not going to haveflexibility anymore.
So there is that kind of hiddenthird person that you're not
seeing behind the scenes unlessI'm out at the office, and then
you're probably going to betalking to them because they're
handling it for me.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I gotcha, god, this is so good.
I love hearing all of thisbehind the scenes.
I love that you're so openabout it too, like it just
really makes it feel safer,because, of course, this is like
a huge decision, this is somepeople's full-time income and it
just feels like you're.
You know they talk about thegolden handcuffs of a full-time
job that you know our societyhas held that up as like what
(13:24):
the most safety is, and soanything other than that you
know our society has held thatup as like what the most safety
is, and so anything other thanthat even going part time,
especially in the CAA market, israre and also feels maybe not
as safe.
And then locums feels likeanother step into sort of the
unknown or not as safe.
So I just love the clarityyou're providing.
I'm getting excited for peoplewho are listening the clarity
(13:44):
you're providing.
I'm getting excited for peoplewho are listening.
Okay, let's talk about thedreaded paperwork.
Okay, let's keep going with ourmock.
So this is someone who maybehas found someone a job
interesting in Colorado.
We have found a match.
The CAA has worked with therecruiter and found a job in
(14:06):
Colorado that's going to meettheir needs in terms of schedule
, hourly rate and the locationthat they're wanting.
And now we are faced with tworeally paperwork processes, if
I'm understanding it correct thestate licensing, so getting my
Colorado CAA license, and thenhospital credentialing.
(14:27):
Start us on where we need tostart talking about for either
one of those.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
So I'm going to start with one that you haven't even
thought of and it's a thirdprocess.
However, it's kind of all oneprocess really.
So we actually have an internalcredentialing application.
So if somebody is new to Locums, we're probably going to be
talking to you about this on thefirst phone call.
We want you to fill out thisinternal credentialing
(14:57):
application.
If we're presenting you to ourclients because we do things
like background checks, we getreferences, some of those
beginning things, and then weget to give you that gold star
on your presentation that letsour client know hey, we did due
diligence, we know a lot aboutthis candidate, and that kind of
gives you that like upper handover a candidate that hasn't
credentialed with us internallyyet.
But we use that internalcredentialing application to
(15:18):
pre-fill everything else pastthat.
So you upload your CV.
We have these fancy littlethings that read your CV and
fill out part of the paperworkfor you.
You go in and fill out the rest.
I'd say it takes about 30minutes and then on our end,
within 48 hours to two weeks,depending on how crazy we are
and how quick you are trying toget presented to jobs.
(15:40):
We're running those backprocesses and kind of giving you
that gold stamp and then, ifyou are ready to get that
Colorado license, we takeeverything from that application
and pre-fill out the Coloradoapplication for you and take off
that weight and burden of thatpart of the process.
And then we send it to you withhighlights and say, hey, here's
(16:01):
what we don't know.
We need your help on thesesections.
And then we're talking to theColorado board and helping them
do the verifications that theyneed to do, helping them get the
references back that they need.
We have an in-house licensingteam dedicated to just that.
They're great at what they do.
They take as much of the burdenof that licensing process from
(16:22):
you as possible.
Sounds lovely.
Yes, we try.
We can't always take all of theburden, but as much as we can.
And then we also have a teamdedicated to the internal
credentialing process at thedifferent facilities.
So we have a privileging teamdedicated to just that.
A lot of our people are eitherdedicated to certain states, so
(16:43):
they work with the samefacilities over and over again,
or they're dedicated to ourlarger facilities we work with
because they're crazy processesthat they know the ins and outs
of, but they're doing the samething.
They're taking that internalcredentialing form, pre-filling
everything that they can for you, sending it to you for
signatures and any additionalthings needed and then running
(17:05):
that process for you.
They're talking to the MSOoffice and then saying, hey, the
MSO, let us know that this onelittle thing is needed.
Or hey, your references aren'tgetting back.
Do you mind nudging them for us?
But we're handling, I would say, 75% of that process.
Wow.
Now, of course, there's somefacilities that still reach out
to you even though we say, hey,reach out to us.
(17:26):
So sometimes you have toredirect back to us, but we're
always going to do everythingthat we can, within our own
rights, do for you.
Wonderful.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Okay.
So let me add a little bit moreclarity, just in terms of the
paperwork, because I know thisis something that can really
overwhelm, or has overwhelmed me, as I've taken new jobs and at
one point I was licensed inFlorida and did that all myself
and it is a major, majorundertaking.
How long from the time where Isay, yes, I want this job in
(17:57):
Colorado, the Colorado team andLocum Tens gets me that job and
now I have to go through thestate and the hospital
credentialing process.
How long does that take?
How many emails are we goingback and forth Like what am I
looking at in terms of headache?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
really so?
The easy answer is on average,90 days, okay.
However, we all know thingsdon't always go perfectly on
average, so that's somethingyour recruiter will be talking
with you about.
From the time that you presentand the time you say yes to this
job, you will know if it's a.
I mean, we have jobs that youcould be credentialed in as
(18:34):
quickly as 48 hours, all the wayto 120 days, 150 days.
The average is 90.
So you can pretty much assumethat, unless told otherwise, but
we're always going to becommunicating that with you and
the licensing is it depends.
Yes, there's no great answerthere, especially because CAA
licenses aren't uniform acrossthe country.
(18:56):
Every state has their ownguidelines of what type of
license you're getting.
We have a pretty little chartthat tells us the average for
each of those.
So, once again, we're going tobe telling that to you up front,
but it could be anywherebetween two weeks to 150 days to
get a license.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Okay, yes, and I just want to clarify even further,
because these two processes thestate licensing so to receive my
CAA, state license is anentirely different person.
It's like a it's a statedepartment versus hospital
credentialing is you know thefive people in HR who are doing
hospital credentialing?
And they're two very separatethings.
(19:37):
And you're sayinglocumintendentscom does
everything they can to help us,but you don't control those two
agencies.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Correct.
I wish we did, especially forlicenses.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yes, I'm sure, and I'm also thinking that if I'm a
CAA and I want to work just aweek in Colorado like I'm not
ready to take a big commitment,and maybe we've worked together
and found a Colorado hospitalthat's going to allow me to work
three of my eight weeks of paidvacation for my traditional job
(20:09):
I'm going to have to do thisentire process for just those
three weeks as well.
Right, I need my Colorado statelicense and I need my hospital
credentialing.
Correct, correct.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
Okay, yes, so you're going to need that.
The only caveat I'll give youis some hospitals will allow us
to apply for temporaryprivileges, which are going to
be a little bit easier to get ifyou're working shorter term,
and some hospitals let us applyfor temporary privileges for a
three-month assignment and wedon't have to apply for full
privileges until you've workedmore.
(20:41):
That depends on the red tape ofthe hospital itself.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Okay, Okay, Thank you .
There's so much nitty-grittyhere and I wanted to get into
another big bucket of questions,comments and concerns that I
had in my own brain, and I'msure other people do, which is
okay.
So I make this leap I'm leavingmy, let's say, full-time job
and I'm going to work athree-month locums contract and
(21:07):
want to make that my full-timeincome.
Where is my health insurancecoming from?
What about my 401k match that Iwas receiving at my traditional
job?
Those things that are reallythe golden handcuffs that people
talk about that seem to mattera lot.
How does locumtenantscom helpus transition into this really
(21:29):
freelance?
Speaker 2 (21:31):
method?
Yes, this is a question I getoften from people first starting
to think about locums andluckily, we have done a lot of
research for you.
We can't provide these thingsourselves, so we have a whole
section of locumcannonscom, theactual website, dedicated to
resources.
So the top people that we wouldrecommend that you reach out to
about health benefits, taxquestions, all compiled in one
(21:55):
area for you.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Very good.
And, yeah, I just think I'm notsurprised a lot of people come
at you with those questions,because I think that is one of
the stumbling blocks where itjust feels like, oh, this is too
much.
I just you know what I mean, Ijust can't.
It's too overwhelming, and it'sjust piece by piece.
You'll have to take it onbecause it all does ultimately
need to be done.
Yes, okay, let's keep going.
(22:20):
I think a lot of CAAs listeninghave this experience where you
are on the job for the first dayLike you're just a traditional
W-2 worker, this is your firstfull-time job, and you show up
in, you know, like businesscasual attire, ready to do
whatever you think your firstday is, like business casual
attire, ready to do whatever youthink your first day is.
And they're like great, whydon't you take your pumps and
(22:41):
put little shoe covers and justgo in the OR and you're going to
get the anesthesia your veryfirst day and we're all like,
wait a minute, what?
There's nothing, there's noorientation, and I sort of made
that joke.
I think it's getting better,but I think a lot of CAAs, a lot
of healthcare professionals,probably have that experience.
How does locumtendantscomknowing that we're going to be
completely fish out of water ourfirst day.
(23:02):
How do you help that transition?
Is there communication on whatfirst day will look like?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I am so excited to answer this question because we
just launched our first app.
So the locumtendantscom app hasreally made this a better first
day situation for all of theclinicians that work with us.
So we have a section in the appcalled your welcome packet.
So within that section of ourapp, it's going to tell you when
(23:30):
you need to be to the facility.
If we know, like the specificsof where you need to park, who
you're meeting, their contactinformation, any details we have
on that first day will be laidout there for you in the app,
which is great.
We have really worked onrefining these first day
reporting instructions forclinicians and we keep a draft
(23:51):
somewhere that says thisfacility always says that these
are the people you need to reachout to.
Here's what we've learned fromother clinicians that have had
their first day that we shouldprobably tell others about.
So as much information as wecan provide we do in that
section, as well as information,like you mentioned, just your
first day.
But how are you getting there?
What's your flight information,what's your hotel information,
(24:14):
what things go wrong?
Since we're booking those foryou, it's common that you should
probably know about all livewithin our app and then you have
contact within the app to our24 seven customer care line.
If something goes wrong yourfirst day and you're like I
don't know where to go or what'shappening, you can reach out to
your recruiter via that app oryou can even reach out to that
(24:34):
24 seven line line.
Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Why is the first day in medicine always so chaotic,
Like?
This is a theme.
If you guys are tackling this,then clearly this is not just a
CAA experience.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
It is definitely across the board, for every
specialty, every level providers.
Speaker 1 (24:51):
You would think someone is thinking about this
and now you are.
So thank you.
Okay, you kind of tiptoed intomy last question and where I
want to spend just a bit of timebecause I do think when CAAs
hear about locums, you thinkmoney, like you think, oh, these
really high hourly rates andI'll be able to make more money
than I can at a traditional job.
(25:12):
And you mentioned two thingstravel, like how are you going
to drive to the OR on the firstday and flight information if
you have to fly to this location, to a new state, which is part
of the quote, unquote money, butseparate.
Where do you want to start withmoney?
Do we want to start with hourlyrate and how set in stone it is
if we negotiate?
(25:33):
Where do you want to start withthis sort of big conversation?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Let's start with the ugly one.
First, the money.
That's what people want to know, that hourly rate, yes.
So from the moment you'retalking about your first job
with a recruiter, we're going towant to know what hourly rate
you're looking for so that wehave an idea and we'll be honest
with you if you're beingunrealistic.
I've definitely told someonebefore.
(25:56):
If you are getting that thatyou say you are right now an
hour, keep that job for as longas you can.
I'm not hearing about rates likethat in the industry right now,
but each of our recruiters isvery well versed in the specific
hospitals they work with, oftenas well as their state, and can
kind of give you an idea.
If you want to be in Colorado,you're going to need to be
around X rate.
(26:17):
So if you're looking to makemore than that, let's talk about
other states where we canactually get that, because
you're definitely going to seethere are certain areas of the
country that are going to makemore than others and it kind of
goes hand in hand with cost ofliving.
Not always necessarily, but youcan stand your ground on rate
and we'll be as honest as we canwith you.
We try to be very transparentabout rates with providers,
(26:40):
especially if this is theirfirst time working locums.
And as soon as you know if itisn't right now I can't find you
a job in Colorado making that,I'm going to keep your name on a
list somewhere and as soon as Ihave a job in Colorado that can
make that, I'm going to becalling Mary Jean hey, finally
got a job that's going to makethis, but we'll definitely let
you know.
Hey, we can't present to thisclient at that rate, or if we
(27:01):
think we can, we'll let you know.
This is outside of what they'reapproving right now, but I'm
happy to advocate and see if Ican get it for you and present
at something higher than we'renormally presenting at.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Yeah, and I think follow-up question is how do I
know what my base rate is?
And just to add a little bitmore context, we're talking in
February 2025 and I work PRN ata hospital 20 minutes down the
road think it's somewhere around175 or 180.
And so just within you know thecity I live there's this
(27:40):
difference and that's for PRN,that's not for locum.
So how do I who, how do I findout what even is my rate?
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, so definitely depends on each facility, which
is why I would say yourrecruiters are going to know the
average on each facility.
They all have their kind ofhighs and lows of what they're
willing to approve and what theyaren't.
But they're also looking atthings like candidates
availability.
So if you're working PRN, Imight not be able to get you as
high of a rate as I could forfull time Right, there's so many
(28:10):
things that are kind offloating out there that make a
difference.
But I would be honest with yourrecruiter If you don't know
what rate you should be comingin at, we're going to let you
know what we're seeing onaverage so you can at least get
that baseline.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
Got it Okay.
And then talk to me abouttravel and lodging and I assume
it's on top of the hourly rate.
How is that figured?
Is that negotiable?
Let's say we're again, we'retalking about this Colorado job.
In this mock scenario, I livein Missouri, I'm going to have
to fly there or drive there howdoes that work?
(28:46):
And I'm going to need some sortof hotel room.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
Yes.
So I would say, if you'rethinking about travel and
lodging, there's three easy waysto think about it.
The most common is going to bethat we are covering your travel
and lodging and rental car.
So we are going to say, uponpresentation to this hospital,
mary Jean is going to need roundtrip flights, a rental car and
a hotel and we will be bookingall of that for you.
(29:12):
We'll let you.
I mean, if there's options inthe area maybe there's a Hilton
and a Hyatt, we know that theclient will approve both we're
going to send it to you and saywhich would you prefer to be at?
We don't always have that luxury, especially since a lot of
locums assignments can be insmall areas.
But if we do have that luxury,there's a travel team that's
reaching out to you and lettingyou know.
But that's probably the mostcommon is that we're going to be
(29:35):
covering it and you're going toknow kind of what's getting
booked ahead of time and havesome say as much as we can Like.
If there's two different timesto fly out, we're going to send
you both of those flights andsay let us know which one you
want us to book.
You're typically going totravel in the night before you
start and then the day after anassignment ends, so that I would
(29:56):
say that's industry standardafter an assignment ends, so
that I would say that's industrystandard.
And one fun thing that I'lljust throw in here so if you
have that you know Delta loyaltynumber or the different flight
or rental car hotels that haveyou rack up points we take those
numbers for you and plug theminto all of the things that
we're booking on your behalf, soyou're still racking up some
(30:17):
free travel down the road, eventhough we're paying for that
flight.
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
It's a fine thing no one thinks of.
Yes, I don't have any of those,but it sounds like I would if I
did.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yes, the second most common thing you're gonna see
and this is something you willknow as soon as you talk to a
recruiter about a job is anall-inclusive rate, meaning
you're going to be receiving ahigher hourly rate, but you will
be in charge of paying for yourtravel and lodging as well as
(30:47):
booking it on your own.
Now, not to say that if youwere like, hey, sabrina, I know
nothing about this area, can youhelp me?
I would absolutely have mytravel team reach out and be
like here's the hotels that wetypically have people at.
We're still here to help you,but it all comes out of your
pocket to pay for.
And then the third option is atravel stipend.
So this is something you couldrequest yourself upon
(31:10):
presentation, if you prefer.
It's on the.
I wouldn't say it never happens, but it's more rare that we
have a client requestingstipends instead, and that means
that you would be receiving$1,400 a week to book your own
hotel rental car flight, andsometimes it's that you have a
(31:32):
lodging stipend and then westill pay for a flight and
rental car.
That's the most confusingoption.
That is something you'll see aswell.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
And that is dependent on the hospital client, meaning
that's just the way thehospital structures their deal.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Yes, if they prefer it, that's.
I don't really know why.
We have some clients thatprefer it, honestly, but they do
.
But typically it's somethinglike a clinician would prefer to
book something on their own.
It just makes their liveseasier than they are the ones
requesting that.
They get that stipend instead,and sometimes it benefits you.
If the flight and the hotel arecheaper right now, you might
(32:07):
pocket a little bit of extramoney and then there's going to
be times where you're paying alittle bit more out of pocket.
Traditionally, I see it forpeople who are wanting to stay
somewhere nicer than the HiltonHyatt kind of level.
We typically book clinicians at, or like a first class flight.
They want you to cover you knowwhat would be the typical
business part of it.
Wait is business.
(32:28):
Yeah, coach, we book an economylevel flight and they want a
first class flight so that thiskind of you know covers that
portion for them.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Gotcha, okay, yeah, bite, so that this kind of you
know covers that portion forthem.
Gotcha, okay, yeah.
And because you were talkingabout hotels and I was thinking
well, the people who work locumsthat I know are staying in more
Airbnbs.
So they either are working withlocumtenscom or their locums
provider to, as opposed to theHilton, get me this Airbnb or
they likely have a stipend.
Speaker 2 (32:56):
Yes, and I think something important to add there
if we are presenting you for anassignment, you can let me know
.
Hey, I would really like ahotel with a kitchen or kind of
those nuances.
Hey, I'm going to be inColorado.
I would like a four-wheel driverental car.
We can request that as soon asyour presentation with the
client, so that we know upfrontMary Jean prefers these things.
(33:18):
Are you okay with coveringthese things?
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Okay, I have a personal question.
We've gotten so far into this.
Now I'm all like, as I said, Iwas looking at locums a couple
of years ago and now I'm in aPRN position where I control my
schedule.
And now I'm in a PRN positionwhere I control my schedule.
How I guess I'm still, I feellike, maybe jaded that a
(33:50):
hospital is not going to want tohire me for just a week or, you
know, two weeks every othermonth or something Like is that,
does that happen, or is it theywant?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
people for longer than that.
It depends on the hospitalitself.
People for longer than that.
It depends on the hospitalitself.
We have some hospitals thatwill bring people on for as
little as one day and then somethat say, if you can't work at
least two weeks a month, we'renot open to that conversation.
So it really is all over theboard on what we see and it's
(34:14):
their red tape.
Sometimes it's not even theanesthesia department saying
this is what it is.
Some hospitals have guidelinessaying you have to work at least
as much for it to be worth itto credential Gotcha.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
Yes, as we talked about the very bureaucratic
paperwork process.
Yes, what else?
I feel like we've covered somuch aside from like filling out
the paperwork for people, but Ijust really wanted to get into
the weeds a little bit on thisto just really blow open CAA's
understanding of what's possibleor, if you're an SAA who's
(34:46):
listening, anything else aboutthe process that we've not
touched on that you feel like weneed to know to make the best
decision for our job.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
I kind of think honestly.
I feel like we've gotten into alot of the nitty gritty of what
it really looks like to start.
I can't think of anything else,but you know as much as we just
had a candid conversation, Iwould say this is what 90% of my
phone calls sound like.
So if you are listening and youwere like Sabrina didn't cover
(35:15):
this, but I'm really curious OneI recruit for the state of
Hawaii and Utah so you can applyto one of my jobs and talk to
me at any time.
But I would don't be afraid toask these questions to a
recruiter, even if you reallydon't think locums is for you
and you just have a few quickquestions.
It's always going to be worthour time to jump on the phone
and answer questions with you.
(35:37):
So don't ever hesitate to calltext email.
We do it all 24-7.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Wow, awesome.
That really is encouragingbecause I do want CAAs to find
what I call their dream life.
I want everyone to be able touse their CAA career to live the
life that's uniquely meant forthem, and being able to have the
flexibility that locums allowsfor just really allows you to
think what's possible for me,what do I want to do?
(36:04):
Do I want to travel?
Where do I want to live?
And I'm still stuck on the factthat I could see CAAs who want
to work in their home state thatwe maybe aren't licensed in,
and just somehow being able tokind of keep pushing those
buttons and those levers becauseyou know they want to work
locums and you guys are willingto kind of help push some of
that through and, as a CAA,that's really, really important.
(36:27):
That matters a lot to us andour profession.
So I just I'm really gratefulto speak with you, sabrina.
It's fun, as always, and, yeah,totally a candid conversation.
I feel like we're buddies atthis point.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Absolutely.
And, mary Jean, I will beseeing you soon at the Quad A
conference, so if anyonelistening to wants to come talk
to me in person, I will be thereand I look forward to getting
to meet some CAAs for the firsttime.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Are you coming alone or are you coming with anyone?
Speaker 2 (36:56):
I will be coming with Riley Patton, who is our
Indiana and Illinois recruiter.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Awesome, yes, well, I will absolutely be there and,
yes, I will stop by so we cansee each other in person.
Cool, wonderful, all right.
Well, thank you again, sabrina,and we will talk soon.
Awesome Thanks, mary Jean.
(37:21):
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand conversation about the locum
tenants market withlocumtenantscom.
If you are interested inpursuing locums or just maybe
looking at the locumtenantscomwebsite just to see what's
available, I'm going to havesome links in the show notes so
you can peruse in the privacy ofyour own home without anyone
(37:43):
contacting you.
And also, sabrina gave me alink that if you put in your
information, in exchange youwill get three downloadable
resources that will help youmake some early decisions in
your locum's journey, will helpyou make some early decisions in
your locums journey.
I did it myself.
Basically, they ask you foryour name and email address and
(38:03):
then you can click on therewhether you want to have a
recruiter call you.
That's definitely one of thethings in this market that can
be a bit overwhelming is thatonce you give your name out and
your information, you do tend toreceive a lot of recruiter
calls.
So I like that they give us theoption in this link to choose
whether a recruiter reached outto us or not.
(38:24):
I was just really impressed bySabrina and this company, and
I'm very interested to see howlocumtenenscom can help build
the CAA profession in terms ofgetting us into new hospitals,
possibly new states or firsthospitals in new states.
That was all very exciting tome and just goes to show how
(38:45):
much momentum the CAA professionhas.
Right now, at this particularmoment, it's such a wonderful
time to have found out about theprofession.
If you are a AA student or aprospective, I really encourage
you to look back into some ofthese other episodes here at
Awakened Anesthetist to make themost informed decision for
yourself about this career.
(39:06):
You can also follow me onInstagram at Awakened
Anesthetist.
I show behind the scenes andjust give you some real life
sort of feel on what it is to bea CAA.
And the most important thingyou could do for the podcast
truly is just to directly sharethis episode right now with a
friend, a CAA or another AAstudent in your life.
(39:27):
Tell them why you loved thisepisode, why you think they'll
love this episode, encouragethem to take a listen and follow
along.
All right, let's talk soon,y'all.
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Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com