Different settings NPs and PAs can work in with Locumly

One Career, Different Settings: Exploring Locum Work for NPs and PAs 

One of the nice things about working as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant is that your experience can take you in a lot of different directions, and that’s especially true with locum work. 

An assignment in urgent care can look very different from one in a specialty practice or hospital. 

For NPs and PAs who like a little variety in their work, that can be part of the appeal. You can look for opportunities that fit the experience you already have, while potentially getting exposure to a different healthcare setting along the way. Here are a few of the environments you might come across when exploring locum opportunities with Locumly. 

Hospitals 

Even within a hospital, there’s no single locum experience. NPs and PAs work across a range of specialties, from emergency medicine and surgery to cardiology, psychiatry, and more. Locumly works with hospitals to find clinicians based on the clinical experience, specialty, and scope needed for a particular role. 

Depending on the assignment, you could be joining a larger multidisciplinary team, working within a specific department, or coming in to provide additional coverage when a hospital needs more provider capacity.

The pace, patient population, schedule, and responsibilities can all change depending on the department. That makes your existing experience especially important when considering a hospital assignment.

If you know you enjoy the hospital environment, locum work can give you a chance to take that experience somewhere new without necessarily changing the type of work you already know well.

Outpatient and Specialty Practices 

Outpatient and specialty practices offer a different kind of workday.

Locumly works with organizations across areas including primary care, pediatrics, cardiology, psychiatry, and other specialties. Depending on the practice, you may be working with a smaller team, seeing patients on a more scheduled basis, or focusing your time within a particular area of care.

For an NP or PA who has spent years building experience in a specialty, that can be a natural fit. You’re bringing knowledge you already have into a new organization and helping provide coverage where it’s needed.

There can be plenty of variation within outpatient care, too. A primary care practice won’t necessarily look or feel like a specialty office, even if the schedule on paper seems similar.

That’s why it’s worth asking about more than hours and location. What does the patient population look like? How is the team structured? What will your responsibilities be? Those details can tell you a lot more about whether an assignment is right for you.

Urgent Care 

If you’re comfortable caring for patients with a wide range of needs, urgent care may already be familiar territory.

Patients can come through the door with all kinds of needs, and NPs and PAs working in these environments need to be comfortable assessing and treating a range of conditions within their scope of practice.

The pace can be different, too. Patient volumes can change throughout the day or at different times of year, and schedules may include evenings and weekends depending on the organization.

For healthcare organizations, those changing demands can create temporary coverage needs. A locum NP or PA can step in when additional clinician capacity is needed without necessarily adding another permanent position.

For clinicians, it’s worth finding out what “urgent care” actually means for each assignment. Ask about typical patient volumes, hours, staffing, available resources, and the types of cases you’re likely to see.

You may know the setting, but every organization runs a little differently.

Finding the Setting That Fits You

Every locum assignment is going to be a little different. Even if the role looks similar on paper, the day-to-day experience can change quite a bit depending on where you’re working.

You may already know the type of setting you enjoy, or you might be interested in trying something different. Either way, it helps to be clear about what matters to you before you start looking.

That’s something the Locumly team takes into account when matching NPs and PAs with opportunities. Your experience and qualifications matter, but so do the kind of environment you’re comfortable in, your availability, and what you’re looking for from an assignment.

On the other side, the healthcare organization has its own needs and expectations. A good match needs to work for both.

What Could Your Next Assignment Look Like?

Locum work can give NPs and PAs the chance to take their experience into different healthcare facilities and find the type of environment that works for them.

At Locumly, we work specifically with nurse practitioners and physician assistants, connecting clinicians with locum opportunities across the U.S. and keeping expectations clear throughout the process.

Ready to see what opportunities are available? Contact Locumly today and tell us what you’re looking for in your next assignment.