What is "locums" ?

allnurses Guide · Jan 22, 2014

Wondering what on earth this is I see often when researching crna related stuffss

Locums/Locums tenens/prn/part-time. They are all often used interchangeably. Locum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jwk · Jan 22, 2014

Locum tenens, or locums, is generally what people think of for relatively short-term but full-time assignments. One might cover a CRNA position for a week or two while the full-time CRNA is on vacation. Or it could be used by hospitals who have a need for longer term coverage, for example if a full-time CRNA leaves and they haven't been able to find a replacement yet. Or it could be for seasonal coverage - perhaps a hospital is busier at a certain time of year and needs extra coverage but doesn't need that same level of coverage all year long. "Travel Nurses" are very common in many nursing areas (ICU, ER, OR), and this would be an example of locum tenens as well. Depending on the employment arrangement, a locum tenens anesthetist might be either a W-2 employee or a 1099 contractor.

PRN and part-time could also be locum tenens but more frequently are regular employees. We have a number of PRN anesthetists who truly just work a single day or two here and there when we're short handed, as well as part-time anesthetists that have a regular set schedule 2 or 3 days a week.