For many physicians, finding someone to cover for their clinical responsibilities is the biggest obstacle to taking a sabbatical. I tried a variety of ways to find someone to cover for me, casually over a few years, before I found a good fit.
Use the Physician Sabbatical Matching form.
Tell me (confidentially, of course) when and where you need coverage, or where and when you want to practice somewhere in the US, and I’ll let you know if there’s a match. This is a great way to find someone to replace you, or to find a fun sabbatical job in the US.
Ask your colleagues at your current institution
Don’t forget about colleagues in a different specialty. I guarantee that every doctor you know knows a doctor in your specialty whom you don’t know. Just put the word out that you’re looking for someone to cover for you for an extended period.
Ask any current or past locums physicians
These docs probably came to your community over some other spot in the country for a reason. Maybe they have family in your city, or really like the mountain biking scene there. People who have been doing locums for longer periods are more likely candidates. This ended up being the successful strategy for me.
Ask physicians who interviewed at your group or institution and decided to take another job
They liked your location and hospital enough to take time out of their schedule to interview. Maybe they need to be in a certain spot long-term for family reasons, but could swing a few months in your city for a fun change of pace. I emailed everyone who had interviewed with us in the past two years. Nothing came of it, but it was nice to be in touch with some great folks.
Email your larger specialty networks
If you’re on any national committees, email your contacts and ask if they know of anyone who might be interested. I also did this and nothing came of it, though I did get some folks interested in doing locums for shorter periods.
Post on a job board
Some job boards charge a fee, but it may be worth it if you’ve exhausted your other options.
Ask the hospital or group if they’ll hire a locums while you’re gone
If you’re employed this may be an option. Recruiting is so difficult right now that hopefully the hospital would realize that paying for a locums for a few months is much cheaper than having to replace you
Evaluate whether you have to hire someone else
In large groups that do a lot of shift work, there may be enough people willing to work 1.2 FTE to cover you without adding another person. Physician on Fire did this successfully to minimize his work schedule before retiring.
Have you found coverage for a sabbatical in the past? How did you do it? Any recommendations?