How can locum work fit into your career plan?

"I believe this year of locum work prior to training provided me with experience and confidence which will only provide better opportunities for my future as a general practitioner.”

As part of our latest campaign, we are talking to real doctors who have been working as a locum throughout different parts of their career and the positive impact this has had on their personal and professional lives. Whilst the pay rates may draw you in initially, there are many career-motivated reasons to stick around. In our previous post we caught up with Dr Mickleburgh who used her F3 year to sit an MRCP exam, study a part-time postgraduate certificate and enjoy a work-study-life balance to commit to a regular sports team and enjoy some social time on weekends.

As well as having the flexibility to pursue activities outside of your NHS training, the conversation has highlighted more of the motivations behind choosing to work a locum doctor. A carefully curated F3 year can open the doors to your future career or give you that edge and advantage against the competition when applying for training roles. We caught up with Dr Qadir who has been working with the A&E Agency for the last twelve months to find out what were the most valuable things she gained during her time as a locum doctor.

"I had the opportunity to carry out locum work with A&E agency and Cillean who was my recruitment consultant for a year after completing my FY2. This provided me with a variety of experience from acute medicine to undertaking clinical research with a private company where I had the opportunity to work with the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. I had various job opportunities from across the country, and regardless of where I moved, I was able to pick up shifts in local hospitals. Cillean was very helpful in ensuring all my needs were met, this consisted of ensuring I was comfortable with the job at hand and that the travel times were not exceeded beyond my expectations. I would recommend A&E agency and Cillean to all my colleagues looking to locum prior to entering training. They are a reliable and a hard-working group that ensure their doctors are content within the posts offered. I believe this year of locum work prior to training provided me with experience and confidence which will only provide better opportunities for my future as a general practitioner."

Dr Ganwa Qadir - GP Trainee

At the A&E Agency, we understand that everybody’s situation is different and working as a locum doctor isn’t one size fits all. We offer a personable and bespoke service to our doctors and clients and work proactively to source new, exciting, and unique opportunities to offer as part of our portfolio. In the last twelve months we have successfully recruited doctors into:

• Clinical research opportunities
• Luxury cruise liners
• Private hospitals
• Addiction rehab clinics
• Slimming clinics
• Fertility clinics
• Private insourcing contracts
• Functional accessor roles
• Lucrative NHS roles with flexibility all over the UK

If you are a doctor who is looking for an agency find you the best opportunities to support your career plan, register with A&E Agency now or if you’d like to discuss our tailor-made opportunities and the next steps for you, please contact us here or at info@accident-emergency.co.uk and we will be happy to help. #doityourway