Locums for a Small World Blog

7 key ways GMS is different from other staffing agencies

Posted by Kari Redfield

With all of the choices available, knowing how to choose the right locum tenens company can be a challenge. What makes one staffing agency different from the others? At Global Medical Staffing, it starts with the people, says Tyler Black, GMS president. “What makes us unique is the relationship our recruiters have with physicians and our outstanding employees. Our employees are engaged. They stick around. They’re passionate about their jobs and the physicians we work with, and that’s creates close, personal relationships with physicians.”

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Locum tenens in Hawaii: A passion for medicine meets an adventure of a lifetime

Posted by Kari Redfield

Family medicine physician Dr. T recently took her first locums assignment to Hawaii, and she is thrilled with how the adventure has enriched her life. She chose locums in order to travel and to experience different cultures — and Hawaii, a melting pot of culture, is the perfect place for both.

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Locum tenens in New Zealand: Must-knows before taking a locums assignment among the Kiwis

Posted by Kari Redfield

Want to go somewhere where you’re always near a beach, the sights are stunning, the people are friendly, and where you’re bound to find adventure? Make sure to add New Zealand to your bucket list of locums destinations.

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6 reasons we appreciate our locums doctors (in GIFs!)

Posted by Kari Redfield

At Global Medical, we appreciate our locums doctors for many reasons, but most of all because they are truly amazing people who also happen to be excellent physicians. Our physicians continue to wow us!

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Why these 4 doctors love working international locum tenens

Posted by Kari Redfield

Some doctors describe international locums as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, others grab the kids and take them on a series of international jet-setting adventures, and still others embrace it as their new lifestyle. However doctors can fit it in, all of them call their international assignments amazing adventures.

Here’s what four physicians love most about international locums.

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Locums in Guam: Doctor goes on adventure of a lifetime

Posted by Kari Redfield

Dr. Cheri McCue has always loved traveling. Still, she didn’t expect to one day get on a plane and end up living in Guam for several months.

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Q&A: Taking a yearlong locums assignment in New Zealand

Posted by Kari Redfield



There’s a lot to consider before packing up and moving overseas for a year. In the Q&A below, child & adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Jason Lambrese shares how he made a one-year locums assignment in New Zealand work for him and his husband as well as how happy he is that he could make this experience of a lifetime happen.

What drew you to New Zealand?
“I did six years of residency and fellowship, and the idea of taking an international locum tenens assignment as kind of a gap year between my fellowship and a more permanent job was really appealing. It was something a lot of people talked about. Everyone seemed to know a doctor who had done it.”

So, you went to New Zealand after your fellowship and before taking a permanent position?
“Yes. I saw it sort of like this fun year in between, and the timing was right. We were ready to leave Boston anyway, so we had sold our condo and packed.”

How hard was it to navigate the visa, credentialing, and licensing process?
“GMS took care of all of those logistics and other ones too. That was huge. That’s the benefit of going through a locum tenens company versus trying to get a job overseas on your own. I couldn’t have navigated the immigration website. With moving across the world, there are so many things you have to deal with and think about, but GMS took care of so much of it.”

Learn more about how Global Medical Staffing takes care of visas, licensing and credentialing.



What were some of the highlights of your year in New Zealand?
“The people are so nice. The place is beautiful. There’s so much stuff to do. There’s such a variety of landscapes and activities. We did so much travel using my six weeks of PTO, and I love that I didn’t have to work the weekends, and we could travel then too. We could put the real life stuff on hold because there really wasn’t much real life stuff to do out there except work and pay a few bills. I had that freedom to adventure and to explore.”

What was the biggest challenge?
“Being so far away from home. We didn’t get any visitors over the year because people need a lot of time, money, and stamina to make the flight. We thought about getting a two-bedroom apartment because everyone was so excited. I’m glad we didn’t because the spare room never would’ve gotten used. Timing calls to communicate back home was also tough.”

What was it like practicing medicine in a country with universal health care?
“I liked the work and being in a community clinic and that we were serving a more marginalized population. I feel like I was doing more good than maybe I would have otherwise and that specialized skills are used more effectively.”


What did you like the most?
“The people were great, and the place was beautiful! Learning a new way to practice medicine was fascinating. That experience of being in a whole new place and a whole new system — I needed that change.”

What would you say to other doctors considering international locum tenens?
“Go! For many of us, it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

See also:

Learn more about international locums from doctors who have gone.
How to rent out your home while on international locums.
How locums docs get paid.

Want to start your own international locum tenens adventure? Check out our current opportunities by clicking the button below, or give us a call at 1.800.760.3174. We're always here to answer questions.
Search international jobs

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Physicians from Global Medical Staffing make a difference in Haiti

Posted by Kari Redfield


This past November, Dr. Maria Chansky went on her fourth medical mission, this time to Haiti. The Haiti mission was made possible through a generous grant from the Making a Difference Foundation in partnership with International Medical Relief, enabling five physicians and several support staff members to travel to and within Haiti for eight days, giving of their time and skills to those most in need of medical and dental care.

Every day, the team set up at a different site in order to treat as many people as possible.

“We had to figure out how to use the site effectively, had to figure out where the dentists were going to be, where the primary care providers were going to be, where the patient education was going to be, where the pharmacy was going to be,” says Dr. Chansky. “Really, we had to work together to organize, lay things out, and move benches and equipment.”

Dr. Chansky says the whole team stepped up wonderfully, making the logistics and delivery of care a smooth process that benefited a lot of Haitians.

Life in Haiti
Even though Dr. Chanksy has seen other places devastated by natural disasters, one thing that struck her about Haiti was how destroyed parts of it still are from the 2010 earthquake.

“There are almost like two Haitis,” says Dr. Chansky. “There’s the group of people in Haiti who still have places to live and still have work, but then there are people whose neighborhoods were completely destroyed by the earthquake — and they’re living in refugee camps, and their neighborhoods haven’t been rebuilt. It’s been eight years and they still have nothing. It seems like the people who were really devastated by the earthquake, their situation hasn’t really changed or improved much, which is heartbreaking.”

Dr. Chansky adds: “The incredibly huge line of patients who were waiting to be seen spoke to the importance of what we were doing.”

Putting medical skills to good use
Dr. Chansky says that she is drawn to these missions in order to give back to those most in need.

“I like working with the disenfranchised populations, learning about them, seeing what life is like in different places, and serving people who need my services. I really enjoy working with people and getting to know them and doing something that hopefully makes a difference in their life,” she explains. “From a purely selfish point of view, I get to travel to places that perhaps I wouldn’t go to otherwise and meet people who I wouldn’t otherwise meet, and I really enjoy that.”

This desire to help those who most need medical care is part of why Dr. Chansky has worked as a locum tenens physician at various times throughout her 21-year career. She worked three years in New Zealand, plus a couple years of full-time locum tenens in the continental U.S.

“The clinics that are hiring locums are the clinics that are probably in the greatest need, and so I’m filling the role and providing a service,” she explains.

She also likes locums because she enjoys traveling and meeting people. The third thing she likes about locum tenens is the flexibility.

“I have a lot of flexibility as far as where I am and when, so if my husband’s parents or my parents had some kind of emergency I could get locums work close to them,” Dr. Chansky explains.

She says that flexibility also meant that when she was working locums, she could be in a certain place at a certain time of the year to experience something unique to that area — or to take time off for a holiday or family gathering. Locums also allowed her to set her own schedule, decide where she wanted to work, and work fewer hours than a long-term position.

Dr. Chansky says that she encourages other physicians to consider locums if they are looking for more flexibility, travel opportunities, and want to use their medical skills where they are most needed.

She also encourages physicians to sign up for a medical mission to see life through others’ eyes and give back.

Inspired to make a difference through a medical mission? The Making a Difference Foundation partners with world-class nonprofits to provide physicians the opportunity to participate in meaningful medical missions to make a difference around the globe. Visit them to learn more about medical mission opportunities.

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