Locum Career Information

Locums are physicians and healthcare professionals who take up temporary contracts and assignments in hospitals and medical practices. The term ‘locum’ comes from the Latin phrase locum tenens which means “placeholder.” Locum positions are created to cover permanent staff on leave, or to alleviate staff shortages in hospitals and medical clinics.

Locum Roles

In healthcare, locums are physicians and healthcare professionals who take up temporary contracts and assignments in hospitals and medical practices. The term ‘locum’ comes from the Latin phrase locum tenens which means “placeholder.” Locum positions are created to cover permanent staff on leave, or to to alleviate staff shortages in hospitals and clinics. In Australia, locum work is particularly important in rural and remote areas. In the past, Senior Doctors would often choose locum employment as a way of ‘easing into retirement.’ However, nowadays, doctors of all ages and stages of their career are choosing to work in locum employment and find it provides many benefits including:

  • flexibility and work-life balance.
  • financial incentives.
  • variety and travel.
  • access to skill development and specialisation.
  • exposure to different clinical and healthcare settings and situations.

Clinical Director/Medical Director Jobs

Clinical Directors/Medical Directors are senior healthcare professionals who have extensive experience in clinical medicine and hospital administration. They have often completed a Master’s Degree which combines their medical knowledge with administration skills. This role is considered the highest administrative position of the organisation, often only overseen by the management board, and involves serious supervisory and operational responsibilities. Doctors in these roles require excellent communication, interpersonal and management skills, and are responsible for the clinical, professional and financial performance of the department/organisation, and the delivery of high quality, effective and efficient patient care. Responsibilities may also include human resource management, fiscal management, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of governance frameworks and clinical protocols.