Healthcare is Growing Globally

Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the United States. Currently, 14 % of adults in the United States are employed in healthcare. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in healthcare between 2022 and 2032 are projected to grow faster than jobs in any other industry, with an average annual opening of 1.8 million. 

Always Negotiate

Mastering the art of negotiations is the key to success, especially for a new healthcare graduate. If you can negotiate a career package that will help you financially and personally, you’ll be on the path to a healthy and happy career in healthcare.

Top Insights to Consider Before Entering Contract Negotiations

• Know what you want: It’s vital to assess what you desire in a job opportunity: Do you like to work full-time, part-time, or per diem? Do you want to work weekends and holidays? Are you ok with being on ‘call’? What base salary are you willing to accept? Are you willing to travel to different facilities? Do you want a certain amount of training before you are left to work on your own? Do you want an on-the-job mentor? Is the facility you are applying to close to your home, or will you have to commute? Do you use public transportation? Does the facility have access to public transit? Does the facility offer superchargers if you have an EV (electric vehicle)?

• Research is vital: Before entering a contract negotiation, it’s essential to research what other facilities are paying and offering as benefits compared to what you are being presented. Learn about the organization you are applying to: Do they share your values? Do you agree with the organization’s mission statement?

What are you bringing to the table?

• Know your value: Do you have a specific skill set that may benefit the organization? Do you speak different languages? Do you have any professional certifications? What computer programs and EMR (Electronic Medical Record) systems are you proficient in? Do you have any skillset in AI or VR (virtual reality)? Have you researched or published articles helpful to the hospital and or organization? What skills and job sets from previous employers could you use as a skillset in the position you are applying for? What type of internship or residency experience are you bringing with you? Do you have academic achievements that may help you stand out?

• Industry Knowledge: Did you complete your residency or clinical internships in a specific specialty? Are you specialized in one field like pediatrics, geriatrics, or women’s health? Have you done any community outreach work in the area where you are seeking employment? Have you created a product through innovation that could benefit the organization you are applying to?  

What should you expect from the organization?

• Patient population: What type of patient population will you be servicing? How many patients are you mandated to see in one day or care for on one shift? Does the facility have issues with staffing ratios and safe staffing? Have they been in the media for safe staffing issues? Have employees gone on strike recently? What safety precautions does the organization have to keep you and other employees safe? Have there been incidences of random acts of violence at the facility? How have these incidents been handled? Does the facility offer specific training for self-defense?

• What common complaints does the organization have? What keeps the management team up at night? Do you have a specific skill set that you can offer the management team? For example, if you become an expert at organizing grand rounds during your past clinicals or residencies, you could offer to start an educational symposium if one does not already exist. This skill could provide you with greater bargaining power.

Show Me the Money

Of course, the compensation you want to earn is essential when negotiating your first healthcare contract. But you may like to know what other benefits and ‘perks’ the healthcare organization can offer you, like:

• Licensing fee reimbursement

• School loan reimbursement

• CEU’s or CME’s

• Compensation to attend healthcare conferences related to your specialty

• Vacation and or sick time

• Health Insurance benefits, family leave of absence, and maternity leave

• Breastfeeding rooms and allotted time during your workday to pump

• Does the organization offer accessible on-site mental health services during working hours?

• Compensation for professional memberships

• Cellphones and personal laptops

• Transportation reimbursement

• Book subscriptions

• Mileage reimbursement for travel to another clinic

The Secret to Negotiating Your Contract

According to Carolyn Bupert, CRNP, JD, contract  negotiation attorney expert, it’s best to follow the 3 Ps of negotiation:

Prepare: It’s essential to familiarize yourself with how the revenue is generated and brought into the practice or healthcare facility. Ask the practice management for data. Become familiar with CPT codes, dates, and fee schedules. The clinician’s billing regarding salary and overhead costs will determine whether the facility is profitable. A clinician’s salary should come to about one-third of their total billings, and the benefits should equate to about 25% of the base salary.

Nonmonetary contributions to the practice, such as patient satisfaction, increases in repeat customers, and declines in no-show appointments, should be measured. Patient testimonials are a great way to demonstrate value regarding these points.

Probe: During the interview, ask about the clinic or healthcare facility’s financial health. Determine what the expectations are regarding employer profits.

-Threats and opportunities?

-What does the budget look like?

-Strategic goals for the organization?

Propose: After doing your research and showing your value to the company in the interview sessions, don’t be afraid to ask what you want and get what you deserve.

Renegotiation Clause

Typically, after 90 days, 6 months, and a year, you may be reevaluated for your work performance and be reevaluated for a promotion or potential salary increase. This is your chance to show the organization how you have benefitted them and if you’ve made the organization money. Essential questions to ask include:

1. How does the process of performance evaluation work?

2. Ask to see the scoring tools used to evaluate you.

• Who does the performance evaluations?

• Who will be evaluating your EMR charts and patient cases?

• Will you have to submit patient charts?

• Is your credentialing process going to be affected?

What Happens Next?

Silence. After negotiating your contract, you might not hear back from the facility immediately. Don’t panic! Always remember that silence is golden.

After receiving an offer, it’s always best to take time process the offer and give it at least 1 to 2 days. Don’t just jump in when you hear back from the facility with an acceptance or a declination. Ensure the offer you get is right and you are satisfied before accepting.

Are you curious about locum tenens? MedCare Staffing has you covered! Click the link to speak to a recruiter today.

The post The Secret to Successful Contract Negotiations for Newbie Healthcare Providers appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

And this debt is all too real. According to an article written by the Association of American Colleges, as of 2016, the average medical student graduated with around $190,000 in loans. And approximately 74% of new graduates were experiencing education debt. These estimates have only increased over the years, and will most likely continue to do so. You may feel like you’re swimming in this debt and that being able to make your last payment is miles away. When you do make that final payment, you’ll feel exponentially better. So, how can you reach that final payment day, faster? We’ve compiled some tips and tricks to help you get there.

1. Create a budget and stick to it.

List all of your expenses and compare them to your current take-home pay. It’s likely that if you have included your student loans into this equation, you’ll be at a negative number. Try your best to reduce your expenses as much as possible; it will help ensure that you have more left-over than you previously did. Yes, as a healthcare worker, you may have a good income, but you do not want to be indebted forever.

2. Try to stay out of consumer debt.

If you learn nothing else from student debt, learn that there is no such thing as “good” debt. Your income could be too high to write off having mortgage debt. Plan to get out of debt and stay that way. When it comes to credit cards and student loans, try and pay more than your minimum required payment as often as you can. Doing this can help to diminish the total interest paid on your debts. 

3. Pay your highest percentage loan first.

It may feel great to have your smaller loans paid off first, but you’ll pay less in the long run if you try and pay off the highest interest rate first. When your highest one is paid off, move on to the next highest, and so on. If you have to make monthly payments on multiple loans, you could consider having them combined. But it would be best if you only did this with ones that are at the same interest rates. 

Pay off your private loans first, and don’t combine private and government loans. You will want to rid yourself of any loan that your estate would end up being responsible for. 

Pay off your government loans last. Stafford and Perkins loans tend to have lower interest rates. Try and make the minimum payment until you pay off other loans. Then ensure that your emergency fund is sufficient; that way, if you find yourself out of work, your family will have resources. Once you have a 6-month emergency fund in hand, go ahead and pay these off.

4. Make more money!

When you’re in debt and currently working, you are in a unique position. As a locum tenens provider, you have the opportunity to pick up additional shifts and even be paid more than you would in a permanent position. A MedCare Staffing recruiter can help you to get the best rates for your services. Being able to work evenings, nights, or weekends, that provides even more opportunities to earn more money.

With locums positions, you have a chance to be more flexible with your scheduling and shifts. Whether you’re trying to make an extra loan payment or you’re building an emergency fund, take advantage of these options. You can choose when you want to work and pick shifts at a better rate. Being able to get out of medical student debt is worth working a little extra. 

Once you get out of debt, you will feel such a great sense of relief. When you finally make that last payment, go and celebrate! 

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post Tips for Getting Out of Medical Student Debt Fast appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

1. You’ll Only Find Work in Busy Places. Wrong

While there are plenty of locums positions with an exhilarating patient workload, and a fast-paced environment, not every assignment will be like this. This is true because facilities of all types use locums to fill their temporary staffing issues.

When finding the right fit for you, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the relationship with your recruiter is a two-way street. If working in a busy place is a concern for you, talk to your recruiter and take some time to discuss other potential options. The diversity of facilities that we work with here at MedCare Staffing can help in your search for what work environment will suit you best. If something a little more slow-paced is what you’re looking for, then we have plenty of rural locations that would be perfect for you!

2. You’ll Have to Work Full-Time. False

While many of the locums healthcare professionals choose to pursue it as a full-time job, that’s not the only way to experience locum tenens work. What makes this field so accessible is the fact that you can make of it what you want. If you choose to work as a locums provider on holidays or pick up extra shifts here-and-there, you have the option to do so. You are not confined to work as a locum tenens professional full-time.
You can use part-time locum tenens work as a way to supplement your income and sharpen your clinical skills in an environment different from your full-time workplace. If you’re looking for part-time or full-time locums has plenty of both to offer.

3. Patients Won’t Want to Trust You. Myth

The main reason this myth exists is due to the rare patients that insist on being seen by a clinician they know. And while this may be true, it doesn’t happen often, and most patients are content with their needs being met. As a locums professional, you will inevitably experience some trepidation when starting work in a new clinic. Still, the truth is most patients won’t be upset seeing someone who isn’t their usual clinician. And those patients that do can usually be won over with openness, honesty, and clear communication. Some locums opportunities are less about recurring visits and more about one-off care, like walk-in clinics and hospitals. This issue is rarely a major one, and there are always ways that you can work around it if it does show up.

Do you have any questions about locum tenens? Feel free to contact us anytime! We would love the opportunity to answer any of your questions.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post Top Three Locum Tenens Myths appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

The Golden State is offering to pay off all medical school debt of physicians who have pledged to spend 30% of their time helping Medi-Cal patients for at least five years. California has around $340 million budgeted for the repayment program. While this pledge might mean a lower starting salary, it helps to eliminate thousands of dollars of medical school debt. They also have a chance to make an impact on those in their community who are less fortunate.

The program is making huge steps towards fighting the shortage of health professionals in the state. The leading cause of their shortage is due to the fact that the state’s health care program for the poor has quickly outpaced the number of available physicians that accept those patients.

According to the California Future Health Workforce Commission, more than 60% of California’s medical students left the state in 2017 for their schooling. The California Commission has proposed a plan worth $3 billion that will run its course over the next ten years to help address the looming healthcare crisis.

With the strides that California is making to help with the growing shortage of physicians, they are genuinely making an impact. With this growing opportunity for medical students, there will be more chances available to them. More medical schools in California are increasing their incoming class sizes to help counteract the growing shortage, which is, in turn, offering many more students an affordable education in the state. And with the pledge to work with lower-income patients, these medical students have the opportunity to impact their community positively.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post California is Paying Off Medical School Student Debt appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

1. A Good Quality Webcam

While a webcam is not technically considered telemedicine equipment, excellent video quality that comes with a good webcam can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful virtual visit. Not only does a high-quality video present a professional image to patients, but it helps to ensure a more accurate assessment of the patient and ensure clear communication. For those facilities that have multiple telemedicine rooms, a higher-end consumer-grade webcam may be expensive but is an overall worth-it expense. Not all telemedicine consultations require such high-quality video, but those that do can benefit from a good webcam, such as a dermatologist.

2. Reliable High-Speed Internet

Once you’ve chosen your webcam, it’s time to check on your internet connectivity. Internet speed and bandwidth are crucial to both delivering data to and receiving data from patients. To ensure that your internet is both reliable and capable of supporting telemedicine, check with your service provider and see if they can provide you with the bandwidth you’ll need. Your internet provider should be able to configure your network correctly, so it works best with the ‘two-way’ traffic that telemedicine calls require. The influx of uploading and downloading that is necessary when video conferencing requires a sufficient network to support it. Your internet provider should be able to give you solutions that will help you to maintain a higher level of network reliability without spending enormous amounts of money on networking equipment and services.

3. Digital Medical Scopes and Other Accessories

Digital stethoscopes are the functional, high-tech tool that telemedicine has been waiting for. The digital stethoscope works by using the microphone on the patient’s device to capture and stream audio files to the provider. This requires very little from the provider except for a pair of high-quality, over the ear headphones, and allows them to analyze the audio data in real-time. If providers and their facilities wish to keep these audio files for future study or reference, they may want to consider investing in a HIPAA-compliant network file storage system.

4. Tablets

Tablets are the perfect tool for any healthcare facility to invest money in. They are incredibly versatile, which makes it easier to adapt to any practice with just the download of an app or hardware purchase. Providers can use the tablet as an advanced clipboard, allowing them to take detailed notes that are transferred efficiently to an electronic health record system. Many digital health accessories, such as the digital stethoscope, have apps that allow medical providers to transmit, store, and then analyze their patients’ data. While a tablet can’t take the place of a PC, it can be a vital tool in the workplace. 

5. Visual Aids

Just as visual aids are used in an in-person visit, they can also have the same use in a telemedicine visit. Common aids such as pain scales, portion size guides, can help ensure that telemedicine visits run smoothly, efficiently, and quickly. For visual aids to be useful in telemedicine, they need to be large and clear enough to see in a video chat window or be shared through a digital screen-share in their digital form. These familiar aids can help to act as reminders that telemedicine, while it may be new, can be just as useful as a traditional appointment.

Are you considering Telemedicine? Contact a team member at MedCare Staffing today and let’s start the conversation.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post 5 Telemedicine Tools You Need appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

Locum tenens assignments help provide physicians and advanced practitioners with greater flexibility and career experience. Working locum tenens also allows them to travel, choose where and when they want to work, and decide if they wish to work part-time or full-time. 

Why are Employers turning to locums?

More healthcare organizations are making use of locum tenens physicians today than they have in the past. Locum workers used to be seen as a temporary fix to staffing issues but are becoming a vital part of the continuity of patient care.  

In addition to the issues the healthcare world faces with physician burnout and the uneven balance between supply and demand, facilities can’t afford to have gaps in their care. Vacancies in their facilities lead to long wait times, and delays in treatment, hiring locum tenens workers can bridge those gaps and help the facilities and continuing their high quality of care. 

Why are so many clinicians choosing locum tenens?

As the medical world continues to evolve, clinicians have more options than ever before. The flexibility offered by locum tenens work is only one factor in why it’s so popular. Clinicians get the chance to travel and experience a wide variety of different facilities. 

Getting to experience different facilities can broaden their knowledge, especially if clinicians choose to take an assignment in a rural or urban location. Getting to work and live in different areas helps to expand their horizons and could help them decide where they want to practice full time. But the main reason so many clinicians are turning to locum tenens is their ability to choose where they go on assignment.

Why choose MedCare Staffing?

It can often be hard to choose the right company for you when you choose to start working as a locum tenens clinician as there are so many available. MedCare is an excellent option for those just beginning in the locum tenens world, and we are a small, close-knit company that values not only the providers we work with but our clinicians as well. 

At MedCare Staffing, you are not only getting to work with a fantastic team, but you have a chance to work with the managing partners. This is a unique experience that sets MedCare Staffing apart from other larger staffing agencies. 

Reach out to us today and join our family, we’ll make sure to take care of you and yours.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post Why More People are Choosing Locum Tenens appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

Get Moving More

Clinicians are often on the move regularly throughout the day. Going to the gym after a long day can be the last thing on your mind, especially if you spent an endless night on call or had a day filled with caring for patients. Exercise isn’t limited to running on the treadmill or lifting weights at the gym. You can quickly get more out of your day by taking the stairs instead of an elevator or parking a little farther away. This helps to break up your exercise into manageable bite-sized pieces without having to spend hours and a bunch of money at a gym. If you’re wanting a way to see how many steps a day you’re doing, try wearing a smartwatch or exercise tracking watch to know the difference when you make these small changes.

Work on Reducing Your Stress

Working in medicine is stressful, regardless of your position. Even more, stress can be added to these positions when you are a locum tenens worker becoming a part of a new team on an assignment. Regardless of where you practice, it is a given that your patients will not act according to textbooks, which will, in turn, up your stress level.

While stress is a given in this profession, daily stress management looks different for everyone. For some people, a visit to the gym, walking around the block at lunch, or climbing stairs helps, while for others, meditation or deep breathing does the trick. Something that can help is a free mobile app called “Take a Break!“. The app guides you through a seven-minute work break or a thirteen-minute stress relief meditation. While this is a great option, and exercise is a great alternative, they both take a bit of time, so a quick alternative would be to take four deep breaths whenever you are feeling overwhelmed. 

Improve Your Financial Health

As a locums provider, it’s possible that you’ll be paid more than your colleagues employed by the clinic or hospital. Many of your expenses will be tax-deductible. A good rule of thumb is to take time at the beginning of the year to review your financial health, and whatever goals you might have for the upcoming year.

If you are facing a large amount of debt, try paying off the debt that has the highest interest first. After you pay your monthly obligations, pay yourself. By putting money away in your savings or into your retirement account, you are setting yourself up for financial freedom later in life.

Tips for Keeping Your New Year’s Resolution

First, you will need to be realistic. If you make plans to run a marathon when you have yet to run a mile, it is bound to fail. Instead, make smaller, more attainable goals that you can work on throughout the year. 

Share your goals with others; it will help hold you accountable. It only takes 21 days for a new change to be committed to habit, but six months for it to be permanently cemented in your daily routine. 

Keep track of your progress, and make sure to reward yourself along the way. Commit to 2020, being the year that you lead your best life and achieving your goals. 

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post 3 New Years Resolutions You Can Keep appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate this achievement quite yet as there has been an uptick in a new nicotine delivery trend: vaping. Over the past two years, teens have taken to vaping at an unprecedented rate. When e-cigarettes and vaping devices first came about, they were marketed as smoking cessation devices for adults. The products claimed to be able to deliver nicotine without the benefit of removing the dangerous by-products of combustion.

While vaping used to be dubbed as “safe smoking,” new evidence has come to light that proves the opposite is true. In 2015, the vaping market made many significant changes, including:

• Smaller and more easily disguised units
• Brightly colored packaging with sweet, enticing flavors such as jolly rancher, strawberry milk and fruity pebbles
• Social media showcased commercials with young people dancing and vaping. This has made vaping more appealing to teenagers, and marketing to younger populations has become the norm
• Middle school and High school-aged kids have taken to vaping like wildfire, with 27.8% of teens have taken up the vaping habit

What is vaping?

Vaping gets its name from the vapor that’s produced when an electrical coil heats an installed packet of liquid/juice, vaporizing it to allow it to be inhaled. The types of vaping devices vary from cigarette looking, pen shapes, or the Juul, which features a slim rectangular device similar to a flash drive. These devices deliver nicotine and flavoring. To use the device, you inhale the vapor and exhale a small amount, which may or may not emit an odor. To recharge, the devices use small USB plugs that can connect with most wall plugs.

How are kids gaining access to them?

Even though tobacco products are illegal for those under 18, it seems that teenagers aren’t having much of an issue obtaining vape devices. Many of the products are sold over the internet with very little in the way of age verification, and storefront shops are popping up nearly everywhere.

Teenagers are getting their hands on vapes through social connections or lax law enforcement. Once they’ve gotten their hands on them, they are often hard for parents and teachers to identify and monitor their use and spread. For example, many students are taking advantage of the times when teachers turn their backs during class and vaping. The vape cloud quickly dissipates, leaving very little evidence. The absence of the smell cigarettes cause helps to keep parents out of the loop. 

What is the medical evidence showing the harm in vaping?

While direct evidence will be hard to come by for vaping due to it being a new fad, there is some evidence that it isn’t as great of a substitute for tobacco use. All vape pods contain nicotine in amounts that tend to be higher than those found in cigarettes. There is no doubt that nicotine is highly addictive, and breeds concerns about the potential development of other tobacco habits. The damage that nicotine addiction does to cardiovascular health is well documented. 

The liquids found in e-cigarettes and vaping liquid tend to be questionable, like diacetyl, which is used to provide the sweet flavor and originated as a flavoring agent for popcorn. Diacetyl is thought to be the cause of Bronchiolitis Obliterans in popcorn factory workers that failed to use proper respiratory protection. The condition is now known as popcorn lung and causes the alveolar walls to break down in the lungs. Another chemical often found in vapes is glycerol, the compound breaks down to formaldehyde, which is a well-known cancer-causing agent when heated. With all of these chemicals being inhaled deep into the lungs, there are bound to be significant consequences. 

How do we protect our patients?

Raising awareness with not only parents, but teenagers as well can help to set patients on the right track to being informed about what it is they are putting into their body. Despite the fact that there are not many long-term studies, there is enough information available to advise that vaping is both addictive and unhealthy. Most teens are under the impression that vaping is a fun and consequence-free habit, but as clinicians, you must inform them that the opposite is exact. 

At MedCare Staffing, we do our best to stay up to date in all news related to the medical field. Teen vaping is alarming to us. For tips on how to talk to teenagers about vaping, check out this guide from the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post The Rise of Teen Vaping appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

New Mexico

For those who love the outdoors, this Southwestern gem has plenty of miles of untamed wilderness to explore. Incredible snippets of culture and exotic cuisine are readily available in places such as Santa Fe and Taos. New Mexico offers many historical sites with dinosaur relics! The state is also home to the country’s largest hot air balloon festival. Not only does New Mexico have plenty of exciting things to do, but it also offers warm weather, modest housing prices, and 85 state hospitals.

Ohio

Ohio offers many opportunities for those who prefer to practice rural medicine. While the state does offer some larger cities that give you that ‘big city’ feeling, it is more likely that you’ll be practicing small-town medicine in Ohio. An excellent example of both rural medicine feel with big-city amenities would be Columbus, Ohio. There are excellent schools, job opportunities for your spouse, and the basic amenities of a bigger city. Ohio offers the best of both worlds.

Oklahoma

The Sooner State offers many opportunities to a wide variety of locum tenens jobs. The state itself is peaceful and relaxing, yet rugged wilderness is just around the corner. In Oklahoma, you have an opportunity to work either in rural or urban medicine! Oklahoma is also home to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and over 100 hospitals.

California

California is a fantastic place to work and live in if you enjoy the hustle-and-bustle of a state that’s always on the move. The state has much to offer in the way of entertainment, with historic landmarks and cities, as well as incredible natural wonders like the redwood forest. Whether you want to work in one of the state’s prestigious hospitals or a smaller clinic, the opportunities are endless. California is known to have more locum tenens jobs than any other state, and there are opportunities in almost every medical specialty.

If any of these states interest you, contact a MedCare Staffing consultant today. Or feel free to visit our job board by clicking here. We are adding new permanent and locum assignments weekly.

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing, call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

The post Four States To Consider For Assignments in 2020 appeared first on Medcare Staffing.

While locum tenens professionals work with a staffing agency, they are not employees of that agency or the healthcare facilities they work in; they are independent contractors. This brings its own fiscal responsibilities, so we have compiled some tips for being money-smart while working locum tenens jobs.

Set Aside Funds for Taxes

Locum tenens workers are compensated in gross, which means that they are paid in full for the hours they work without any state and federal tax deductions. You are still responsible for paying taxes on your income earned during each contract. Most contract workers and financial advisors suggest that you set aside a portion of each paycheck to account for tax payments. That way, when April 15 rolls around, you won’t be caught off guard with a hefty tax bill. The IRS has a helpful form, IRS Form 1040-ES, that helps you calculate how much you will owe in taxes. 

Pay Estimated Quarterly Taxes

Most state tax agencies and the IRS encourage contract workers to make estimated payments every quarter, which means paying them in April, June, September, and January of the following year. There could even be late fees applied for missing these deadlines. It is also essential to know that contract workers are required to pay self-employment tax. This tax covers social security and medicare, and this payment typically occurs when filing your annual tax return.

Contribute to Retirement Accounts

A great idea to make sure that you have a retirement fund set up. An easy way to make sure that you pay into it is by putting away some money when paying your quarterly taxes. Not only are you helping to set yourself up in the future, but most of these contributions can be considered tax-free, thus lowering your overall taxable income. 

Keep Track of Records While on the Road

Conveniently, locum tenens staffing companies take on the cost of housing and transportation for assignments. While they take care of the basics, you are going to inevitably have some expenses while on contract, including meals. The IRS allows you, as a contract worker, to deduct costs of doing business away from home that are not typically reimbursed (i.e., meals). 

You should be keeping track of your receipts for the purchases made while you’re on contract. Still, you should also maintain a record of healthcare insurance premiums, licensing, and professional services, such as hiring a lawyer or accountant. These can be submitted as deductions, which are typically done with a profit and loss statement in your tax return. 

Dailyfinance.com states that contract workers who claim less than $5,000 in business expenses and who do not report net losses can use the Schedule C-EZ Net Profit From Business form.

Whenever taxes or finances are involved, it is always a good idea to be safe and check in with a tax specialist or a certified financial advisor, to make sure that you are on track.

While a locum tenens lifestyle requires you to assume a more proactive approach to managing finances, it is also true that this lifestyle can provide an impressive return on your investment in it. 

Who are we? MedCare Staffing is a small, veteran-owned, family-oriented team. We start every day with gratitude because we LOVE what we do! We are a team on a mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients and providers.

What we do: We place Physicians, Dentists & Advanced Practitioners in Locum Tenens, Contract Positions and Permanent Jobs

To contact MedCare Staffing call 888.474.3380 or visit or website by clicking here!

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