Locum tenens—a Latin phrase that means “to hold the place of”—is a unique career path that can improve OB-GYN work-life balance. When you work as a locum tenens OB-GYN, you can set your own schedule, carve out time for longer vacations and family events, and earn a competitive salary while traveling the country.
Here’s what every OB-GYN should know about locum tenens.
What should I consider before taking locum tenens OB-GYN jobs?
Before you start the job search or contact an agency, keep the following in mind:
- You can make it fit your needs. Whether you are looking at locum tenens as an alternative full-time employment or just want to pick up a few extra shifts on the side, you can structure locum tenens to fit your desired lifestyle.
- Know what you can be flexible on. If you want to stay within easy driving distance of your home, it may take some time to find the right locum tenens OB-GYN jobs. If you’re willing to travel further or work in an underserved area, you may earn a higher salary and also have more control over your schedule.
“After doing this for a few years, I’ve learned that having the exact job you want in the exact place you want may not necessarily be able to align at every point in time. But if you’re flexible about the location, you can always find work. I decided I will just enjoy my location when I’m not working, and I have fun in my own life rather than waiting around for the perfect location and job opportunity,” says Dr. Jacqueline Brown, an OB-GYN from New York. “I spent a winter in the Midwest, one of the least desirable environments I could think of, and the people in the hospital were absolutely lovely, it was an amazing assignment.” - It’s not permanent. One of the biggest benefits of locum tenens is the “try-before-you-buy” mentality. You can take one assignment and see if you like it. If you don’t, you don’t have to return. On the other hand, if you love it there, many locum OB-GYNs return to the same facilities again and again, year after year.
Plan ahead. The licensing and credentialing process at a new facility can be lengthy, and certain positions fill up fast—especially if you want to spend Christmas in Hawaii. Start looking for jobs or working with an agency at least six months before the time you’d like to be working. - Consider the IMLC. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) allows doctors to get licenses in multiple states that participate, which streamlines the licensing process if you’d like to work in at least two states.
How do I find locum tenens OB-GYN jobs?
The easiest way to find locum tenens OB-GYN jobs (especially if you’d like to travel) is to work with an agency. They’ll connect you with a recruiter, who’ll get to know you and ask about your preferred schedule, type of facility, locations, and salary requirements.
Once they know what you’re looking for, the recruiter will begin searching for jobs that meet your needs and send them along for you to consider. You can then choose to apply for a job, and the recruiter will get your CV and other paperwork and send it to the hiring manager.
Of course, a Google search of “locum tenens OB-GYN jobs” will bring up positions on various job boards, often in cities within your geographic area. And some physicians find jobs this way or by contacting local hospitals directly, but it means doing all the legwork and paperwork yourself. So, there are pros and cons to both approaches. Most experienced locums recommend starting with an agency first, at least until you learn the ropes.
What should I look for in a locum tenens agency?
If you decide to work with an agency, start with the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations (NALTO), which requires member agencies to follow a code of ethics and maintain high industry standards. You can find a list of members on their website.
RELATED: Locum tenens agency comparison chart
Next, consider the agency’s support services. In a recent survey asking physicians to rank the attributes when working with a locum tenens agency, 83% of those surveyed said this was very important to them. Support services include teams that help with licensing and credentialing, housing, transportation, and travel. It’s also nice to be able to call your recruiter 24/7 if there’s an issue.
Your locum tenens agency should understand your specialty and offer locum tenens OB-GYN jobs. Do some research about the size of the agency. Do they focus on jobs in only one area of the country and only a few specialties? Do recruiters have expertise in your field, or do they cover all physician specialties?
Finally, ask your colleagues what they’ve heard about specific agencies and whether they’ve worked with any. If the company has a positive reputation, there’s a good chance you will also have a good experience there.
“Having someone you can actually trust is really important. The people I’ve worked with at Weatherby Healthcare gave me the sense that they were genuine, that they really had my best interests at heart,” Dr. Brown says.
How do I find a good locum tenens recruiter?
The best locum tenens recruiter will be responsive, proactive with jobs that interest you (and respectful of your time when you’re not interested in talking), and knowledgeable about your specialty and your specific needs in a job. They will also coach you for any interviews, present your information to the hiring manager at the healthcare facility, and connect you with teams to help with transportation, housing, licensing and credentialing if your agency offers these services.
“My recruiter Karen has bent over backwards being available, even if there are other people in the office that I need to contact. She’s a go-to person for anything,” recalls Dr. Roseann Freundel, an OB-GYN based in Virginia. “I got stranded in an airport because of weather one night, and she and the rest of the people in the office got me transportation to a hotel, a hotel room, and then transportation back to the airport the next day. Plus, she goes out of her way to find me assignments she knows will suit me, which I really value.”
In short, a locum tenens recruiter will be invaluable at helping you find and get to your job and achieve a better OB-GYN work-life balance.
“When I got a call from a recruiter, it was just a lightning strike. I thought, ‘This is a real opportunity,’” says Dr. Ashita Gehlot, an OB-GYN based in Ohio. “My recruiter was awesome in highlighting all the benefits of locums.”
How does locum tenens OB-GYN pay work?
Locum tenens agencies typically pay your hourly or daily rate weekly or bi-weekly.
A locum tenens OB-GYN earns an average of $150-$225 per hour, depending on the location, patient load, and shift type. The Midwest currently has the highest demand for OB-GYNs.
Maximize your pay: The top 10 highest-paying states for locum tenens in 2025
What taxes do I pay as a locum tenens OB-GYN?
When you take locum tenens OB-GYN jobs, in most cases you will work as an independent contractor. This means that instead of reporting your income on a W-2 form as you likely do at a hospital or clinic, you’ll receive a 1099 form. Independent contractors must pay both portions of Medicare and Social Security taxes (whereas W-2 employers automatically take out of their paychecks) and also pay an estimated tax payment four times a year: April 15, June 15, Sept. 15, and Jan. 15 of the following year.
“I have to pay quarterly taxes now, so paperwork-wise I have to pay a little bit more attention, but it is worth that to be able to have a control over your own schedule, to practice the way you want to. The benefits far outweigh the risks,” Dr. Freundel says.
How do benefits work as a locum tenens OB-GYN?
If you need benefits such as medical insurance, retirement plans, and other coverage, you’ll need to secure them on your own through an independent marketplace or through a spouse or partner’s employment. Most agencies do not pay for benefits.
While health and retirement benefits are not included, most locum tenens agencies do provide the following:
- Medical malpractice insurance: Large agencies generally provide claims-made and tail coverage, which cover legal fees and potential settlements and protect you as a locum tenens OB-GYN
- Licensing, credentialing, and privileging costs: Many agencies cover the license application, verification, and delivery fees. They may also pay for additional licenses if you work in another state. Look for an agency that has a dedicated team to help you with the process.
- Housing: Depending on the length of the locum tenens OB-GYN jobs, your agency will pay for a hotel room (you’ll be responsible for room service or other amenities) or a fully furnished apartment or home close to the healthcare facility. They can generally accommodate family members or even pets if they’ll be traveling with you, though you may pay an additional cost.
- Travel: The agency will cover your airplane ticket and/or rental car. If you drive your own vehicle, they will reimburse you for mileage to your assignment.
“Initially I was like, ‘I’m going to live in a hotel, how weird is that? What am I going to do in a hotel? I need a house.’ But it’s worked out really great. Whenever I’ve needed anything, the folks out at Weatherby Healthcare have been like, ‘Hey, what can we do to help? How can we make you comfortable?’” Dr. Gehlot says.
Why should I work as a locum tenens OB-GYN?
Healthcare facilities around the United States hire locum tenens OB-GYNs on a temporary basis, whether to fill in for a doctor who is currently on leave, to offer extra coverage during a busy season, or to provide care while they search for a permanent physician.
These positions help the patients you care for and the healthcare providers you support. However, you may not have considered all the various benefits for you as an OB-GYN.
Better OB-GYN work-life balance
Dr. Freundel explains that because you can choose your schedule and how often you work, it is possible to have a more manageable split between time at work and time at home.
“Work-life balance was something that I struggled with as an attending because I still had long hours. I had at least 10 calls a month, office hours were 8 to 5, but by the time you got all the paperwork done and all the things you had to do, it was still 7 or 8 at night—so I didn’t have a work life balance,” she recalls. “I have one now. Is it where I want it to be? Not yet, but it’s a work in progress.”
Relieving burnout
“When I quit my full-time job, I joked with everyone that I was going to be a bartender in Fiji. But I was just completely burned out. Locums made me enjoy being a doctor again,” Dr. Brown says. “For a lot of physicians who are in really dissatisfying practices, locums means you’re paid by the hour and you don’t have to deal with all of that bureaucracy that makes practicing medicine so hard. It burns a lot of physicians out. A lot of that stuff gets taken out of the equation when you’re doing locums, because you have a different benefits structure to what you’re doing.”
For Dr. Freundel, locum tenens work was a reprieve from the committees and hospital bureaucracy that took her away from patients.
“I understand the need for things like peer review and the medical executive committee and all the administrative stuff that you have to do, but I hate the politics of medicine. I’m a practitioner. I need the hands-on work,” she says. “Locum tenens was a great opportunity to try a hospital on for size before you sign on the dotted line.”
Higher compensation
“My biggest fear in working locum tenens was Am I going to get steady work to pay my bills? I still have over $300,000 in student loans I have to pay off. It fit that bill. It certainly paid more than I was paid as an attending,” Dr. Freundel says. “I’m able to make my payments, and the salary is good.”
Expanding clinical skills
Dr. Gehlot says one of her criteria for locum tenens work was allowing her to practice both obstetrics and gynecology.
“Sometimes you feel like you’re in this rut of doing the same thing over and over again, so it was quite nice to see different positions that required different skillsets that you may want to still keep up—or if you didn’t want one, you could do the other,” she explains. “This turned out to be a place where they were amenable to working with me and saying, ‘Yep, we’ll let you do both obstetrics and gynecology, the full spectrum of your specialty.’ I’m really lucky that worked out.”
Exploring the globe
Locum tenens OB-GYN jobs allow Dr. Brown to indulge her passion for scuba-diving: She has a PADI Divemaster certification and has traveled throughout the world as a diver.
“I started working locums in 2016, and I’ve been doing it exclusively for work since then. In between the times I do locum work, I travel internationally. I end up working for three or four months of the time, and I travel for about a month and do that over and over again,” she says. “I love my life now, and it’s really worked out well for me.”
Spending more time with family
Dr. Gehlot frequently takes locum tenens assignments within a few hours of home and appreciates that her husband, who is a neonatologist and also has a busy schedule, can sometimes visit her.
“I’ve got the best of both worlds, If I’m on call every other weekend, then I’ll stay here and he’ll come here. When I’m not, I go home,” she says. “It’s really nice that locums allows you to not feel like you’re separated from your family. There’s this idea that you’re a traveling doctor, so your family gets compromised. I haven’t felt that.”
Locum tenens work also makes extended vacations with faraway family possible for Dr. Freundel.
“As I want to reduce my hours over time, this is a perfect opportunity to have full control over my schedule. I have a child and grandchildren who live in England, so I can decide when and for how long I want to go visit them. It’s my duty to spoil grandchildren,” she says.
Locum tenens is a great option for OB-GYNs who want a better work-life balance, more flexibility, higher pay, and professional growth opportunities. You’re also able to support staff members, care for patients who often otherwise wouldn’t receive healthcare, and network with new people throughout the country. Why not give it a try?