LocumLife - October 2008 - (Page 32)

DESTINATIONS La vita locum Memorable tales from the road Diving into the locum tenens lifestyle After honing her anesthesiology skills in private practice, Jean Anne Leininger, MD, tested the waters of personal freedom with a locum tenens contract halfway around the world. Amy Sutton A previous medical mission to Colombia and a yearlong stint at the American Hospital in France whetted Dr. Leininger’s appetite to seek other international medical opportunities. So she decided to test her 9 years of anesthesiology experience by serving as a locum tenens physician abroad. “I always wondered whether I could just slip into a situation and handle it, using all of the experience and knowledge I had from years of practice,” recalls Dr. Leininger. “I thought that New Zealand would be a good way to test this idea while learning about a different country’s culture and discovering other practice styles.” So in February 2007, she dove into a 6-month contract with Global Medical Staffing. Ltd., headquartered in Murray, Utah. In fact, she enjoyed the position so much that after completing her initial contract and taking a 6-week vacation, she headed back for another 7 months at the same hospital. GETTING HER FEET WET Located in the eastern coastal town of Gisborne, the facility where Dr. Leininger practiced needed anesthesiology coverage for its three operating rooms and 10-bed intensive care unit. “Surgery started at 8:30 a.m., so my shift usually ran from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I took call every fourth weekend and covered 1 in 4 days during the week.” In this agricultural community, over 40% of Dr. Leininger’s patients was Maori, the indigenous New Zealanders. Patient care typically involved providing anesthesia for colon, gallbladder, ear, eyes, nose, and 32 LocumLife OCTOBER 2008 throat surgeries, in addition to extensive orthopedic and many OB/GYN cases. Although Dr. Leininger traveled to New Zealand solo, her husband and children visited several times during the course of her contracts. In her off-hours, she explored the local area by hiking, swimming in the ocean, taking weekend trips, and spending down time with other locum tenens providers. “Some of my colleagues were from around the world. It was not unusual to have everybody in the OR from some place other than New Zealand, except for the patient.” “I enjoyed the chance to care for a different patient population.” —Jean Anne Leininger, MD Local dialects and expressions also made communication challenging at times. But Dr. Leininger rose to the occasion, and treating the local residents proved to be one of the highlights of her stay. “I enjoyed the chance to care for a different patient population. They were very practical and grateful, which made this opportunity that much more rewarding.” A supportive staff also played a role in Dr. Leininger’s positive overseas experience. “Everybody helped each other and worked hard to make the system fair. The nurses did a great job trying to include the locum tenens practitioners.” PLANNING THE FUTURE After finishing her second contract, Dr. Leininger returned to the Midwest. She then completed three additional shortterm locum tenens opportunities over a 6-week period before accepting a fulltime permanent position. If you are interested in following up an international contract with one or more stateside, advises Dr. Leininger, secure future opportunities before going overseas. She notes, “Trying to deal with credentialing requests via international mail is extremely time consuming. Always have another contract lined up for when you return.” In the future, Dr. Leininger plans on diving into other international locum tenens opportunities and may even cross the sea again to return to New Zealand. “I really liked my time there and definitely enjoyed stretching myself. It was good to grow personally and professionally.” LL Amy Sutton is a freelance writer based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. www.LocumLife.com Getting used to being self-sufficient in her new surroundings did take some adjustment, says Dr. Leininger. “I had to go with the flow a bit more. But I enjoyed meeting new people and the exposure to different approaches to care helped me expand my clinical skills and knowledge base.” A good example of this philosophy occurred in late December 2007, when Gisborne experienced a major earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale. “With total loss of power, ceiling tiles and debris falling into the surgical field, plus only one backup generator functioning, we were forced to operate under one light. Luckily, no one was on a ventilator.” http://www.LocumLife.com

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LocumLife - October 2008 Insights Editorial Contents From Nalto STAT! The Basics Med Ec-cerpts Last-Minute Luxury Where Do You Stand? Gastroentrerology Career Center Advertiser Index Opportunities Direct Destinations Passport - Cairo, Egypt Contest Rules Anyone's Guess La Vita Locum

LocumLife - October 2008

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