Locum Tenens Intensivist

What these providers cover

Critically ill patients in medical, surgical or mixed ICUs.

What the shift actually looks like

Unit-based critical care with rounding, procedures, family conferences and escalation decisions. Open versus closed unit model changes the job entirely.

Credentials and certifications

Typically required

MD/DO with critical care fellowship; state license; DEA

Typical workload

Unit census-based

What to specify when you send the req

Unit size, open vs closed model, procedure expectations and ECMO involvement.

Why this role is hard to fill

A small national pool with long lead times. Open-unit versus closed-unit model materially changes who will accept.

What candidates ask before accepting

Answering these in the req itself shortens the process considerably, because they are the questions that otherwise surface at offer stage and cause declines: Open versus closed model, unit size, procedure expectations, ECMO involvement and night coverage.

Contract or permanent?

Locums stabilises the schedule so a permanent search can run on merit rather than desperation. Hiring a permanent physician while critically short-staffed is how facilities end up with a bad twelve-month hire. Locum-to-perm is common and low risk.

Licensure

Physicians and advanced practice providers are licensed in all 50 states. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact is widely described as portability and is not — it is an expedited route to obtaining several separate state licenses, each still issued and regulated independently. The physician assistant compact has been enacted but is not yet issuing privileges. Privileging, which runs on your medical staff committee calendar, is usually the binding constraint rather than licensure.

How we work this req

Every candidate is spoken to before you see them, with licensure for your state, certifications and unit-specific competency confirmed before submittal. We screen to the credential the unit actually needs rather than the title on the posting. Rates sit inside the ranges on our published cost breakdown.