Working as a locum dentist can provide many benefits to dentists at various stages of their careers. You might want to look for better job flexibility, work in a different area and gain more experience with a variety of different practices, or just simply put in a few more extra shifts. There can be many advantages to working as a locum.

Not the least of them is that you will be paid more per hour or per shift than you would working permanently within a practice. However, you could also be between permanent positions, simply want to work part time, or you might also want to undertake postgraduate training and be able to work flexibly as and when you want to so that you can continue with your studies.

Working as a locum also allows you to experience different methods of working in a variety of practices and find out which ways of working are good, and which are not so good. Another advantage could be that you might wish to try working in a particular practice for a short time in order to learn whether or not it would be a place in which you might want to apply for a permanent position. In addition, if you like to travel, you can find work in different parts of the country. So, you might want to spend the wintertime in, say, Cornwall rather than Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

There are often places available in the NHS, of course, as well as the private sector, but there are also opportunities in the prison service, and in the ministry of defence, which gives you the chance to expand your skills in a variety of environments.

You might also simply want to earn as much money as quickly as possible, in which case you could choose NHS emergency cover. There are often 12-hour shifts which run from 8.00am to 8.00pm and you can earn a fixed daily rate of £500 – £600 covering just the emergency walk-ins. Not only that, but you can work weekends as well if you choose, so you could really build up a chunk of money in the space of a few short months if you want to.

But the biggest benefit of working as a locum is the flexibility. You can choose what hours you want to work, go on holiday for as long as you wish, and enjoy a great work/life balance, which can be important if you have a young family, or just don’t want to work a full five-day week all the time.

You can also choose where in the country you wish to work, and if you would like to work in a more rural setting you will find that the pay is usually better than in the centre of London or Manchester. Not only that, but you can get travel expenses and hotel bills paid for as well.

Of course, working as a locum does have one disadvantage in that the contracts are almost always for a short term, so if you want to keep working you will have to keep an eye out for the next job. But that aside, for many dentists, the advantages of working as a locum far outweigh the disadvantages.

If you run your own dental practice, then you will often require the services of a locum, and this can be for one of several different reasons. You might have a team member suffer an accident or illness, and while you may be able to provide cover if it is only short-term, say a week or two, it may be something that could last for several weeks or even months. There is always the chance of maternity leave, or paternity leave, and you could have someone called away on jury service, which again could be for a few days or could be considerably longer.

This is why you need to take out dentist locum insurance which will cover you for the extra amounts that you need to pay out on these occasions. Our dentist locum insurance can cover you for any likely situation, and since no two practices are the same, at Approachable Locum Insurance we will work with you to find the perfect cover for your needs.