I've been reflecting on some of the benefits of locuming, and here are a few thoughts:
The flexibility of choosing what kind of work, where it happens, and, if you don't like it, giving a week's notice to end the contract, is unlike anything you find at home.
The pay rate makes it worth the mind boggling costs of getting here.
Getting to travel to the continent so frequently, for weekend breaks or longer trips, helps you to grin and bear the dismal weather in England. In the past 10 months I've been to Estonia, Spain (twice), France (twice, with a third booked), Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany (three times), Finland, and Austria. I've booked further holidays snowboarding in Switzerland, road tripping through Ireland, sailing Croatia, and, the bravest thing I've planned to date, a solo trip to Italy. I'll have had two month long holidays within twelve months. This is a fairly impressive little travel journal!!
Meeting new friends, seeing how different teams and services work, and trying new things with each post keeps it interesting. Whoever thought I'd actually enjoy working in the community with people in their homes. I love it!
But I do think its important to acknowledge the downsides of being a locum.
Yes the pay is great, but a day off is a day's pay. Suddenly a duvet day isn't so appealing! So far I've had two cold/flus, and let me say, the UK strains knock you for six. So each day in bed is spent wondering whether you can afford it. Not nice.
No pay for bank holidays (I think there are nine of those this year...).
Being employed to fill a gap or replace someone can be rewarding, but its usually purely clinical cover. Gone are the days of staff meetings, professional development (what's that again?), and interest groups. I must say many fellow locums have commented that they're de-skilling, and I certainly feel the same. You feel like you can't contribute to quality improvement or even comment on poor practice, because after all, you're only the locum. So I hand out oromotor exercises for dysarthria with shame and embarrassment, and pretend I haven't seen the blue dye in the trache box.
Dealing with locum agencies has been the worst experience with any professional organisation I've ever dealt with. Hm, apart from Centrelink. Mounds of paperwork which is inevitably lost and needs re-sending, syrupy offers of work dripping with promise and confidence, incompetent or just plain disinterested agents who lure you onto their books then forget who you are... and that's before they find you a job!
I've been traced by 'head hunters' (read: vultures) who call me at work (and I've NEVER given my work number out), offering to buy me out and place me in top hospitals for astronomical pay. Note: if I buy property in London in the next few months, you'll know these agents are more than just empty words. But don't hold your breath. Its exhausting hearing them bad mouth each other, sidle up to you like that girl at school who used to buy your friendship with lollies, and try to get you to hand over your CV. I don't know how many times I've signed my life away...
Worst of all, not having job security is by far the most stressful part. I was contracted for six weeks in Margate, and have ended up still here five months later. This was great news but as I never knew how long I was going to be there, I kept renting in Brighton as well as in staff accommodation. What a waste. And that short term hire car has cost me thousands in hire costs as well as the astronomical price of petrol. Equivalent to AUD$2.08 a litre!!!
Why this reflection?
All good things must come to an end, and I'm shortly waving goodbye to sunny Margate. I've had two sleepless nights worrying about whether to move to London in the next three weeks and wait for a job, or wait for confirmation of one before packing my stuff up and jumping ship. Either way is a risk and potentially leaves me without a job for a number of weeks. London is my ultimate aim - my church is there, as are many of my Aussie friends, and I'm excited to live in an Olympic city. But my average rent is more than double what I'm currently paying in Kent (ok I live in a hospital, but it's nice here!), and there's no guarantee of continuous work.
So I guess when I have runs of sleepless nights, I should remember to take the good with the bad and realise this is the most amazing opportunity, but not without its challenges.
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