This National Locum Tenens Week, we’re celebrating the physicians and advanced practice providers who bring their expertise wherever it is needed most.
They step into unfamiliar hospitals, learn new teams and systems, and care for patients who cannot wait for a permanent hire. Their assignments may be temporary, but the relief they bring to an overextended care team—and the impact they make on a community—can last far beyond their final shift.
As National Locum Tenens Week celebrates its 10th anniversary, the 2026 theme, “Temporary Providers, Permanent Impact,” feels more meaningful than ever.
But every successful assignment also has a team working behind the scenes. Someone is answering the late-night call, navigating credentials, coordinating travel and making sure both the clinician and the healthcare organization are ready for day one.
To understand what that work looks like now, Ringo spoke with Erick Barnett, CEO of Odyssey Locums, one of the staffing partners on the Ringo platform. His answers reveal an important shift in locum tenens staffing: clinicians are no longer looking for someone to simply find them a job. They want a partner.
The Expectations Have Changed
Five years ago, competitive pay and an available assignment might have been enough to start the conversation. Today’s locum tenens clinicians expect much more.
“Today’s locums expect true partnership, not just job matching,” Erick shared. That partnership begins with transparency about rates and complete assignment details upfront. It also means having one dedicated recruiter who understands the clinician’s specialty, preferences and priorities—not a different contact every time the phone rings.
Flexibility and respect for work-life balance have moved from nice-to-have benefits to baseline expectations. So has having a recruiter who advocates for the clinician when an issue arises on-site and remains reachable around the clock. Clinicians want to know someone will answer when the assignment does not go according to plan.
That shift is changing how healthcare organizations evaluate physician staffing solutions.
A Great Assignment is About More Than the Rate
Compensation matters, but a high rate cannot rescue a poorly planned experience.
According to Erick, a great assignment is one where the clinician feels set up to succeed from day one. They should understand the case mix, call expectations, electronic medical record system and team dynamics before they arrive. Travel and housing should be convenient, not simply checked off a list. Most importantly, the facility should welcome the clinician as a valued colleague rather than make them feel like “temporary help.”
Odyssey Locums starts by listening. Each clinician works with a dedicated recruiter who learns their career goals, preferred locations, scheduling needs and non-negotiables. From there, the team provides weekly credentialing updates, travel confirmations from its logistics team, on-site check-ins and immediate problem-solving when plans change.
The support does not disappear once the clinician arrives. The team celebrates successful starts, stays available around the clock and checks in near the end of the assignment with the next opportunity already in mind.
“The relationship never feels transactional,” Erick explained.
The Hardest Work is Often Invisible
A verbal “yes” is exciting, but it is only the beginning.
Before a clinician can begin caring for patients, teams must coordinate state licensing, hospital privileges, insurance, credentialing, housing, travel and scheduling. A credentialing committee delay can collide with a canceled flight. A last-minute schedule change can turn into a 10 p.m. logistics problem.
“Our credentialing specialists and recruiters work constantly behind the curtain so neither the facility nor the clinician has to chase paperwork or solve logistics at 10 p.m.,” Erick said.
This is where locum tenens credentialing, strong processes and healthcare staffing technology matter. A connected, vendor-neutral VMS can give healthcare organizations and staffing partners a shared view of requirements, progress and outstanding tasks. Technology does not replace the human relationships behind temporary physician staffing. It helps those relationships work better. People can spend less time chasing information and more time supporting clinicians and protecting continuity of care.
Keeping Care Moving, and Clinicians Coming Back
Odyssey Locums helps facilities secure reliable, high-quality coverage exactly when and where they need it. That may mean responding to an unexpected vacancy, bridging the gap to a permanent hire or supporting a rural or high-acuity facility where coverage is especially difficult. The goal is simple but critical: remove friction so patient care continues without interruption.
At the same time, locum tenens work gives clinicians greater control over their careers. They can explore new locations, choose schedules that support their lives and continue practicing without the constraints of one rigid employment model. That flexibility can help clinicians stay engaged rather than burned out.
Erick believes great clinicians are initially attracted by reputation and results: top-of-market compensation packages, transparent communication and recruiters who negotiate hard on their behalf. But those clinicians return for a more personal reason: the experience matches the promise. The start is smooth, help is available when something goes wrong and their recruiter remembers what matters to them.
“When clinicians know their next assignment will be handled with the same care as the last one, they come back and they refer their colleagues,” Erick shared. Trust becomes momentum, and a single placement can grow into a lasting partnership.
During National Locum Tenens Week 2026, Ringo is proud to recognize the clinicians who keep care moving and the staffing partners who support them at every step. Temporary providers make a permanent impact because committed people work together to remove friction, build trust and put the right expertise where patients need it most.
Want to strengthen your locum tenens program with greater transparency, simpler workflows and better visibility across your staffing partners?
Schedule a demo to see how Ringo VMS can bring clarity and confidence to healthcare workforce management.
