Top Tips For Locum GP Work and How to Get Started

If you are a general practitioner that is just about to take the leap into locum GP work or have already taken the leap but find it daunting then this is the article for you. Many doctors have never been self employed before and have always had the stability of continuous employment, changing this constant in someone’s life can make anybody feel uncomfortable and second guess their decision.

This article is here to put your mind at ease and give you the top tips from long term and experienced locums to help with your transition.

Relish the challenge and learn

As much as locum GP work can be daunting it is also a fantastic opportunity to challenge yourself and gain a vast amount of knowledge in a short space of time. Working in different practices will give you a unique insight into how practices will adapt to satisfy the needs of their patients. You will have an opportunity to care for varying patient populations and to get used working in a variety of new teams.

Always be prepared

Like a good scout, a locum GP should always be prepared. Preparation is key to organising yourself enough long term locum GP work.

The reason why most GP surgeries use locum agencies is that they have the safety and security of knowing that the locum they are getting is fully qualified and vetted. Having all of your key documents scanned and together is a great way to get ahead, making it as easy as possible to send them over to an agency or GP surgery. Here is a list of documents you will need if you want to get started:

– A CV with/and 2 clinical references

– Enhanced DBS (Within the last 12 months recommended, no more than 3 years)

– Indemnity insurance (MDU, MPS, MDUUS)

– Right to work in the UK

– GMC CCT/MRCGP/JCPTGP/PMETB

– Immunisations (HepB and TB)

– BLS / ALS / ILS

– Performers List Letter/Email

– GMC revalidation dates

– Safeguarding of children

– Safeguarding of vulnerable adult

Act quickly

Many if not all practices and practice rota co-ordinators have a list of their preferred locums, either a list of contacts or a list of agency staff they like to use. It is imperative that you are added to these lists and when you are it is important to constantly check your inbox, respond as soon as possible to secure sessions as it will be first come, first served.

Keep track of your booked sessions

This may sound obvious but experience and long term locums have all experienced a time in their career where they have doubled booked. This easily puts you in the surgeries bad graces as you have just made their life harder by trying to find cover, potentially last minute which will cost them even more money.

It is also good practice to turn up early to any new surgery you are working in to meet the team, have a brief tour, find your room and check that you can successfully log onto and operate the computer systems before patients started to arrive. This will help you feel relaxed and settled when working in so many different places.

Be considerate

Partners usually say that locums have a tendency to pass tricky problems back to regular staff to deal with. Try to remember that locum GPs tend to be called to work when the surgery is short of regular doctors so potentially at a time when the team is already under pressure and you are there to ease pressure and not add to it.

For patients who need review, there will likely be an element to ‘pass back’ to a regular member of staff if you do not know when you will be working at the surgery again, but if it is logistically possible, try to make a plan to review a patient. Also, make a clear record of your plan for follow-up in the notes to help the next clinician looking after the patient.

This is good medical practice for any patient but is particularly important when handing over care to another doctor. Try to save any systems queries you have during surgery or queries regarding referral pathways for the end of the clinic to prevent you needing to regularly interrupt the same person during their morning or afternoon – and make sure any referrals you chose to make are submitted before you leave.
This will go a long way into you becoming at the top of practices lists as the GP they want and will give you more wiggle room for dictating your own rates.

Get called back

The key to being a successful locum is to make sure you are called back to work at practices. To help yourself to be remembered for good reasons, GP locums can start with obvious and simple things: being punctual and organised, arriving at work looking smart and with all the appropriate equipment to do a GP clinic and by being helpful and approachable and flexible to help meet the needs of a surgery on any given day.

If you have any questions regarding locum work then please feel free to leave a comment or get in contact directly via email hello@applocum.com or call 0161 711 0655

See our full list of vacancies here.