Timing is everything
The locum market moves very quickly. Understanding the process and the timing can help your department get the right person at the right time to fulfill your physics or dosimetry needs.
Laying the ground work
Our process starts with us having a call with you to find out more about your department. Every department operates a little differently, and we want to get you the right fit. We need to understand what equipment you have, what sort of procedures you do, and what responsibilities fall to physics and dosimetry. It is important to know the dates of coverage and whether there will be staff on-site to support the locum or if the locum is going to be operating solo.
Questions for a facility:
- What type of Linacs and how many?
- What is the treatment planning system and the record and verify system?
- Do you have HDR, and will the physics locum be asked to do HDR?
- Is this a solo spot or will there be other physicists/dosimetrists on staff? If solo, will there be overlap with the outgoing physicist/dosimetrist for training?
- What is the patient load?
- Who does the SRS/SBRT planning?
- How do you do patient specific QA? Physics or Therapy shoots it? Portal Dosimetry or QA device?
- Do you have a specific start date, duration and hours or are you looking for a contingency plan with less specifics known?
Building the framework
After gathering that information, we will send you a proposal with pricing. While we do standard on-site 13-week locums, we also offer a variety of customized solutions that may include remote or hybrid coverage, or less than full-time coverage. The proposal will be tailored to fit your needs and budget based on our understanding of your department. Acceptance of the proposal can be as simple as an email or verbal confirmation; We just want the thumbs up to proceed.
Once our proposal is accepted, then we send you a contract. This is where the process can really get bogged down. Legal departments can take days/weeks/months to review and approve a new contract, so we try and get that process started as soon as possible. It’s important to note that our contracts just set the structure in place if you choose one of our candidates. Signing a contract with us for locum work does not obligate you to use us or prevent you from using another company.
Selecting the locum(s)
Once we get the signed contract back, we start submitting candidates for your consideration. Since the locum world moves so quickly, it’s best to get feedback on your interest for the candidates within a day or two. If you are interested in a particular candidate, we should schedule a phone interview with them within a week.
The final step is selecting the candidate(s) you want. After your selection, we will get the candidate under contract to provide service at your facility, then we begin the process of on-boarding. The on-boarding requirements vary greatly from facility to facility, and it is something we need to pay attention to with the anticipated start date. Our staff work closely with your HR department to make sure the locum is ready to be on-site, but there may be delays in start dates if HR requires the locum attend hospital orientation or additional medical items like TB testing.
At Atom Physics, we guide radiation oncology departments all over the country through this process and have experience in where the snags can happen that slow it down. We are here to serve you and get you the help you need. Let us help you navigate the fast-moving locum world.