A Doctor’s Guide To Maximizing Earnings While Minimizing Burnout

As a doctor, you’ve poured years into training, patient care, and navigating a demanding system, only to find yourself exhausted, overworked, and questioning if the grind is sustainable. Burnout remains a real issue in medicine, with surveys showing around 45-50% of physicians reporting symptoms like emotional exhaustion and reduced satisfaction, even as rates have dipped slightly in recent years from pandemic peaks. The good news is you don’t have to choose between earning a solid living and protecting your well-being. There’s a practical path that lets you maximize your income while dialing down the constant pressure: locum tenens work.

Locum tenens—Latin for “to hold a place”—means stepping in temporarily to cover for other physicians. It’s not just a side gig anymore; many doctors use it as their main model or a smart supplement to traditional roles. Begin working as a locum tenens immediately with the help of placement assistance for doctors and reduce your risk of burnout quickly.

Why Locum Tenens Boosts Your Earnings

Traditionally employed positions often come with a predictable but capped salary, plus heavy administrative burdens. Locum tenens flips that script. You typically earn a higher hourly rate because facilities pay a premium for flexible, urgent coverage, especially in high-demand specialties like emergency medicine, anesthesiology, hospitalist work, or psychiatry.

In 2025-2026 data, locum rates often range from $150 to $300+ per hour, depending on your field, location, and whether you’re taking call, weekends, or rural assignments. Full-time locums (working 200-300 days a year) commonly pull in $250,000 to $400,000 annually, and top earners in surgical or critical care specialties can exceed that. As an independent contractor, you also gain tax advantages: you can deduct travel, housing, meals, continuing education, and other expenses that salaried docs can’t always claim as freely.

Many physicians start with locums as supplemental income, perhaps picking up a few shifts a month to pay down debt or build savings, then scale up as they see the financial upside. The key is to negotiate through reputable agencies that handle contracts, malpractice coverage, and logistics, so you can focus on what you do best.

How Locum Tenens Fights Burnout

Burnout thrives on unrelenting schedules, endless paperwork, office politics, and a lack of control. Locums directly counters those drivers. You choose your assignments, decide when and where you work, and build in real breaks, weeks, or even months off between gigs to recharge, travel, or spend time with family.

Assignments often emphasize pure patient care, without the administrative burden of running a practice or attending committee meetings. No long-term politics, no mandatory EMR battles—just show up, treat patients, and leave. This flexibility helps many doctors rediscover joy in medicine; studies and physician reports show that locums can significantly improve burnout symptoms for those who feel trapped in permanent roles.

It also lets you test-drive different environments. Mid-career docs use it to explore new specialties or locations before committing long-term, reducing the regret that fuels dissatisfaction.

Practical Tips to Make It Work

Start small if you’re cautious; try short assignments alongside your current job. Research agencies carefully; good ones cover travel, housing, and licensing hassles while advocating for fair pay. Track your expenses meticulously for tax benefits, and consider consulting a CPA familiar with 1099 income.

Plan your schedule intentionally: say no to burnout-prone patterns like back-to-back high-intensity shifts. Prioritize high-paying, low-stress opportunities; rural areas often pay more and offer variety without urban chaos.

Medicine doesn’t have to mean choosing between financial security and personal sanity. Locum tenens offers a legitimate way to earn more, often significantly more, while reclaiming control over your time and energy. It’s not for everyone, but for many burned-out physicians, it’s been a game-changer: higher take-home pay, less bureaucracy, built-in recovery periods, and a renewed sense of purpose.

If you’re feeling the weight of the system, consider dipping a toe into locums. You might find it’s the reset you’ve been needing, proving you can thrive professionally without sacrificing your life outside the hospital walls. Your skills are in demand; now it’s time to demand better terms for yourself.