Picture this: You’re an anesthesiologist enjoying a rare day off when work calls, asking you to cover extra hours due to staffing shortages. You’ve been overworked for months but feel unsupported in expressing concerns about your schedule. Sound familiar? You’re not alone—a 2023 study in the peer-reviewed journal Anesthesiology found 67.7% of surveyed anesthesiologists at high risk for burnout. When burnout pushes you to start your next anesthesiologist job search, it’s worth seriously considering locum tenens—an alternative to permanent work that offers unparalleled flexibility. Ready to reclaim control over your career and life? Let’s explore the four key benefits of becoming a locum anesthesiologist.
1. Abundant Locum Anesthesiologist Job Listings
One clear advantage of working as a locum tenens anesthesiologist is the strong and consistent demand for your expertise. Across the country, hospitals and surgery centers are grappling with staffing shortages. While this presents real challenges for patient care, it also underscores just how vital anesthesiologists are and why locum providers play an essential role in keeping care teams running.
The data tell the story. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), anesthesiologist employment is projected to rise from 45,300 jobs in 2024 to 46,700 by 2034—a 3% increase. But the growth in demand is actually outpacing that number. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) reports that nearly 80% of medical facilities faced anesthesiologist shortages by 2022, up from only 38% just two years earlier. And long-term projections from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) warns of a shortfall of more than 8,400 anesthesiologists by 2037.
For medical professionals exploring locum tenens, these trends translate into opportunity. Growing demand means more assignment options, greater flexibility to choose where and when you work, and stronger negotiating power when it comes to pay and contract terms. In other words, while shortages are a pressing challenge for the system, they also create room for anesthesiology locums to thrive.
2. Flexibility and Control Over Your Schedule
One of the greatest appeals of becoming a locum tenens anesthesiologist is the ability to take back control over your time. In a traditional anesthesiology role, long shifts, last-minute overtime, and rigid call schedules often leave little room for rest, family, or personal priorities. Locum work flips that dynamic.
As a locum anesthesiologist, you decide when, where, and how often you work. Want to take assignments back-to-back to maximize earnings? You can. Prefer to space out your schedule to allow for travel, family commitments, or simply much-needed downtime? That’s entirely within your control. Unlike permanent positions, locum assignments don’t trap you in inflexible scheduling systems or endless obligations.
Locum tenens providers cite this power over scheduling as one of the main reasons they started taking locum jobs—in fact, a survey of locum providers by Barton Associates found that 37% chose locum work for increased flexibility.
This level of autonomy not only makes your schedule more manageable but can also help restore the balance that’s often lost in permanent roles. With the freedom to choose, you create a career that supports your life—not the other way around.
3. Competitive Pay
Compensation is another major advantage of working locum tenens jobs. Since health systems rely on locum anesthesiologists to cover urgent staffing needs, pay rates are typically higher than in many permanent roles. Just take it from locum tenens professionals themselves—17% of locums surveyed by Barton cited a higher earning potential for why they started taking locum jobs.
Locum tenens general anesthesiologists can often earn $265–$325 per hour, however, rates depend heavily on location, experience, and demand. If you extrapolate just the low end of that range over a standard 40‑hour workweek, it comes out to more than $551,000 per year. By comparison, the average annual salary for anesthesiologists in the U.S. was $336,640 in 2024, according to the BLS.
Of course, it’s not a one‑to‑one comparison. Permanent anesthesiologists are usually salaried employees with benefits, while locum anesthesiologists are paid as independent contractors, earning an hourly rate that varies by assignment. But that structure also gives locum anesthesiologists more freedom—you decide how much to work, which assignments to accept, and therefore how much you want to earn in a year.
When you factor in included perks like covered malpractice insurance, housing, and travel, locum tenens anesthesiologist jobs can provide both immediate financial rewards and the flexibility to align your income with your lifestyle and career goals.
4. New Clinical Experiences and Professional Growth
Working as a locum anesthesiologist offers a unique chance to see different parts of the country—from vibrant cities to rural communities—while delivering critical care where it’s needed most. Each assignment brings new clinical environments and patient populations, broadening your experience far beyond the routine.
Beyond diverse practice settings, locum work opens doors to connect and collaborate with a wide range of healthcare professionals. This expanding professional network can lead to new career opportunities, mentorship, and lifelong relationships with colleagues across the nation.
Plus, many locum anesthesiologists enjoy blending work with travel, making the most of their time off to explore new locales, visit family, or simply unwind. When you start your locum tenens anesthesiologist job search with Wellhart, we’ll handle logistics like housing and licensing, so you can focus on what matters most—your growth as a clinician and your quality of life.
Start Your Locum Tenens Anesthesiologist Job Search with Wellhart
Ready to expand your career on your terms? Our AI-powered precision matching technology is designed to connect anesthesiologists like you with locum tenens opportunities that align uniquely with both your personal needs and professional goals.
Whether you’re seeking flexible schedules, competitive pay, or new clinical environments, our advanced system quickly identifies roles that fit your criteria—saving you time and ensuring the best possible match.