Living the locums life involves a lot of planning to minimize unnecessary or undesired gaps in working. One of the more common questions I get asked is when to start hunting for opportunities.

A reader recently reached out with a concern that I hear from time to time from other dermatologists: will a stint in locums look like a red flag on a CV when it’s finally time to land a permanent role?

When you work at the same practice for years, you develop deep roots. At my last job, I knew the staff’s kids’ names and which administrators to avoid. I also knew exactly where the bathrooms were. Moving into locums means giving that up. Suddenly, you’re "The Outsider" over and over again.

If your locums roadmap involves a lot of flying, TSA PreCheck is worth your while. You’ll save time and skip the hassle of taking off your shoes or pulling out your laptop at security. The more interesting part is how you should go about getting it.

Leaving a financially stable job for the unknown is scary. Right out of residency, I had exactly what I was "supposed" to want: a generous salary, great benefits, and patients I loved.

On paper, my full-time W2 job was the definition of stability. In reality, I was unhappy

Finding locums work in dermatology takes effort but is overall fairly straightforward.

When I tell people I’m a locum tenens dermatologist, they usually envision a nomad moving across the country every three to six months. While that’s a viable path for some, I wanted something different. I needed a schedule that fit my specific lifestyle, not the other way around.