How Locum Tenens Staffing Helps Healthcare Organizations Address Coverage Gaps

Situation	Common Trigger	What Locum Coverage Provides
Permanent vacancy	Search expected to take weeks or months	Coverage while the organization recruits
Clinician leave	Medical, parental, military, or personal leave	Continuity for schedules and call rotations
Seasonal demand	Illness trends or census increases	Time-limited capacity that can scale down
Rural or underserved coverage	Persistent difficulty recruiting locally	Maintained access while recruitment continues
Service-line expansion	New clinic, program, or specialty service	Capacity while a permanent team develops
Specialty or call coverage	Hard-to-recruit specialties or call schedules	Targeted expertise for defined responsibilities
Unexpected departure	Resignation or retirement	Interim coverage that limits disruption

These situations reflect different operational needs, but the purpose is consistent: maintain coverage while leaders make thoughtful workforce decisions rather than rushing to fill a role without evaluating clinical fit.

How the Locum Tenens Staffing Process Works

A successful placement requires coordination between the healthcare organization, staffing partner, and clinician.

• Define the need. Specify the specialty, assignment dates, shift and call schedule, practice setting, patient population, required procedures, experience level, and clinical responsibilities.
• Source candidates. The staffing partner identifies physicians and APPs whose licenses, specialties, experience, certifications, and availability align with the assignment.
• Review candidates. Facility leaders evaluate qualifications, experience, references, and fit. Temporary clinicians should meet the same clinical standards expected of permanent hires.
• Coordinate licensing and credentialing. Licenses, education, certifications, training records, references, and professional history may require verification. The staffing partner often coordinates this work while the facility completes its required review.
• Complete facility privileging. Credentialing verifies qualifications. Privileging authorizes the clinician to perform specific services at the facility. Both processes must follow facility policies and regulatory requirements.
• Clarify malpractice coverage and contract responsibilities. The facility and staffing partner clarify coverage, policy limits, effective dates, tail coverage, scheduling expectations, compensation, travel, housing, and other assignment terms.
• Complete onboarding and orientation. Clinicians receive orientation to local workflows, electronic health records, documentation standards, clinical protocols, and escalation procedures before seeing patients.
• Provide assignment support. The staffing partner assists with schedule changes, performance concerns, extensions, and transition planning as needs evolve.

Licensing, credentialing, and privileging requirements vary by state and facility, so leaders should build these timelines into coverage planning. State-level differences can be substantial, as the requirements for locum tenens in New Jersey show.

What to Evaluate Before Approving an Assignment

Before approving a locum assignment, review the clinical, operational, and financial requirements of the role together rather than comparing bill rates alone.

Area	Key Considerations
Clinical requirements	Specialty, procedures, certifications, patient population, scope-of-practice, supervision
Assignment structure	Dates, shifts, call coverage, weekends, holidays, extensions, cancellation terms
Financial considerations	Bill rates, overtime, call compensation, travel, housing, licensing, malpractice coverage, vacancy impact
Operational readiness	Credentialing, onboarding, scheduling, technology, communication
Team integration	Role expectations, documentation, escalation, feedback, communication

How to Choose a Locum Tenens Staffing Agency

A staffing partner should understand the clinical requirements, administrative processes, and workforce priorities associated with the assignment. When evaluating an agency, consider whether it provides:

• Specialty-specific physician and APP recruiting
• Thorough candidate screening and qualification verification
• Licensing, credentialing, and privileging coordination
• Clear malpractice coverage and contract terms
• Responsive recruiter communication
• Support for urgent and planned coverage needs
• Travel and housing coordination when applicable
• Ongoing assignment management, including extensions and schedule changes

Clarify which responsibilities remain with the facility and which the agency coordinates. The right partner functions as an extension of workforce planning while allowing internal teams to stay focused on patient care.

Locum Tenens vs. Other Staffing Models

Healthcare organizations have several flexible staffing options, each suited to a different purpose.

Staffing Model	Best Suited For	Typical Structure
Locum tenens	Temporary physician and APP coverage	Temporary physician or APP coverage arranged through a staffing partner, often with licensing, credentialing, travel, housing, and assignment support
Per diem	Individual shifts or intermittent needs (e.g., weekend coverage, isolated open shifts)	Individual shifts or intermittent coverage, typically scheduled as needed rather than through a continuous assignment
Short-term contract	Planned coverage for a defined period (typically, weeks or months)	A fixed-term staffing arrangement for a defined role and period. It may be direct or agency-supported and can apply across different clinical disciplines
Permanent placement	Positions the organization expects to maintain long-term	Ongoing employment for a continuing workforce need

The right approach depends on the clinical role, specialty, assignment length, scheduling requirements, and organizational goals. Many organizations combine models to maintain flexibility. Leaders weighing alternatives can compare per diem and short-term assignments to see how those arrangements differ.

Using Locum Tenens as Part of a Long-Term Workforce Strategy

Locum tenens can address immediate coverage needs while supporting a broader, long-term workforce strategy. Temporary assignments can give organizations time to recruit permanent clinicians, evaluate demand, expand a service line, support rural access, or redesign schedules without leaving patients and existing teams unsupported.

Locum tenens works best alongside:

• Permanent recruitment
•  Retention initiatives
• Workforce and demand forecasting
• Internal float pools
• Per diem staffing
• Advanced practice workforce development
• Service-line planning
• Schedule optimization

To assess whether the arrangement is supporting organizational goals, track appointment capacity, overtime utilization, permanent time-to-fill, assignment extensions, onboarding timelines, and department feedback. Reviewing these measures can show where temporary staffing is strengthening the workforce plan and where another approach may be more appropriate.

Build a More Flexible Clinical Workforce With GHR

GHR Healthcare supports both physician and advanced practice staffing needs. Our physician staffing team places physicians in locum tenens assignments across specialties, while our advanced practice staffing team supports nurse practitioners, physician assistants, CRNAs, certified nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and other advanced practice professionals.

GHR coordinates with healthcare organizations to understand clinical requirements, scheduling needs, licensing and credentialing timelines, travel, housing, malpractice coverage, and assignment support. Rather than applying one template to every request, our teams work with healthcare leaders to match clinicians to the clinical environment and workforce need.

Whether you are planning for growth, covering a leave, responding to an unexpected departure, or addressing a hard-to-fill specialty, GHR can help you build a more responsive clinical workforce.

Explore physician staffing solutions with GHR Healthcare.

Explore advanced practice staffing solutions with GHR Healthcare.