As a qualified dentist you might want to consider the many advantages of working as a locum. It can be an ideal option for dental professionals whether just starting out or looking for a change of career. You might be looking for flexible working hours, gaining further experience in a different environment, or just looking to earn some extra money by taking on a few more shifts.
For instance, you might decide to undertake postgraduate training and need to be able to work around your study course. You might want to take your career in a specific direction and want to get some more experience in that area, or you might want to find out about different methods of working so that when you opt for a full time position you will know where you want to be. It is also a really great opportunity to work in different practices and see how they handle certain situations, and which sorts of approach work as opposed to those which are not so good.
You could also work shifts in a practice to see whether that practice would be a good fit for a permanent position.
NHS Emergency Cover
If you want to make a lot of money in a short time, then you could consider NHS emergency cover. The shifts on this often run for 12 hours, from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and all you do is treat the emergency walk-ins. This can pay a daily rate of between £500 and £600 and it can be boosted by working at the weekends.
Not only are there opportunities to work within the NHS, but they also occur in the prison service, and the ministry of defence, and of course, you might also be able to work in the private sector. All of this gives you the chance to experience different methods of working in different environments and offers you the chance to expand your skills before, perhaps opening your own practice. There are always practices for sale in different parts of the country.
Without doubt, one of the main benefits of working as a locum is the amount of flexibility that goes with it. You can choose your own hours in many cases, and you can choose to work out in the countryside in the rolling hills of the Cheviots or you can work in a big city if you enjoy city life. If you want extra money you can put in more shifts, and if you want to take a holiday you can take as long as you like. You can work within a given distance of where you live so that you can go home each evening after work, or you might decide to explore new places up and down the country.
In fact, working out in the country is not only beneficial for your health, away from all the noise and traffic of the cities, but it is also more profitable because you can get paid for travel expenses and for hotel bills as well. You can expect up to £500 a day as a set rate without having to meet any targets. Most practices will have dentist locum insurance that will cover these costs for them.
Of course, you might look at it as a disadvantage that you have to constantly keep your eyes and ears open for the next job, because contracts are usually only for short periods. However, there are agencies that you can work with who always look for new locum positions on your behalf.
You Will Need Insurance If You Run A Dental Practice
Naturally, if you run a dental practice you will want to take out dentist locum insurance anyway to cover exactly the sort of situations where you need short term assistance to help cover your patients when one of your partners, or you yourself, are away from the practice for one reason or another. Dentists, unfortunately, are not immune to illness, any more than anyone else, so you never know when you are going to need a locum to cover for you.
It is not just illness that can cause problems for a dental practice. There can be things such as cover for a long holiday, cover for jury service, cover for being away from the practice for any reason. At Approachable Locum Insurance we can tailor a policy that will meet with your precise needs.
