After a year in locum tenens assignments in New Zealand—hers in family medicine in Otautau, his in psychiatry in Invercargill—Kimball Chen and Amy Mullen have scoped out the highlights of what they call the sweetest place on the planet. From the best half-day hike to optimal weather conditions for a helicopter glacier tour to glow-worms dangling from the walls of a cave, they have made the most of their work and play time. And through the
I am excited about my future. I will be starting as a hospitalist with Southwestern Vermont Health Care in July. Currently a 3rd year Internal Medicine Resident, and chief resident, at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, I started considering positions last summer. I was considering a fellowship and other hospitalist positions when I received an email from VISTA’s Search and Consulting division about an opportunity in Bennington, Vermont. The opportunity appealed to
The bush pilot gunned the engine of the DeHaviland Beaver float plane as it glided across the bay. We gently lifted off from Ketchikan, Alaska, on the final leg of a journey taking me to a five-week locum tenens job in Klawock, Alaska. During the 45-minute flight, I surveyed the stunning scenery of the vast Southeast Alaska wilderness, which spread out in all directions.
Klawock is located on the Prince of Wales Island, which is
One of the most memorable places I have stayed during a locum tenens radiology assignment was a converted carriage house behind the home of a radiologist I was helping out. It was restored with such attention to detail, charming, with a spiral wrought iron staircase. And it was within walking distance of the hospital.
Another time my wife came with me and we stayed in a lovely two-bedroom condo in Vermont. It was winter and it
After my internship, I was a Navy flight surgeon for three years. Then I took a Navy residency at Bethesda Naval Hospital and practiced for several years at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA. I left active duty in 1969 to become chairman of the radiology department at University Hospital in Jacksonville, FL, where I worked with a five-person group for many years. Eventually the group fell victim to political dealings that lead to our break
I remind myself frequently that change is good. This year the community hospital at which I practiced emergency medicine for more than a decade relocated. Patient volumes dropped dramatically. Ironically, in this world of physician shortages and long emergency department waits, I found myself working fewer shifts than I wanted.
But here’s the part where change is good. My wife and I started thinking about options. We thought about going to interesting locations where she could
It is not easy—when you have been in medicine for a long time and worked in a lot of places—to get through all the documentation material and pick up a new license or two when you decide to sign up to work with locum tenens staffing agencies. But (VISTAites) Bessie Thornton, Chris Taylor and Sean Clark have been very good to me and have found me good situations to work in. It
I just completed a very positive locum tenens assignment with VISTA and—because it offers a bit of a twist on the standard—I wanted to share it.
My family and I decided to relocate from Tucson to Sacramento and I found a great new job there. My California license was taking forever, however. I decided to work as a locum tenens while I waited for the license.
I accepted an assignment through VISTA in the
Simple answer … Absolutely!
I must admit that my main reason initially for going to New Zealand was not for work. I’ve thought for a long time that New Zealand would be an awesome place to visit, so I thought why not work and travel at the same time? This allows you to spend more time in New Zealand and the experiences you get working and living there are so much more rewarding than if you
In addition to his medical career and his accomplishments as a mountaineer, skier, scuba diver, windsurfer, sailor, rock climber and world traveler, Bruce McDonald is a photographer. He sent VISTA these photos from a recent assignment in Shiprock, NM. This is definitely a situation in which pictures speak louder than words.
