At CompHealth, we have the opportunity to work with a lot of amazing physicians. As we’ve gotten to know some of them, we’ve realized they’re not just great doctors — they are amazing people who love to give back to their communities or provide service to people in need. Here are just a few of their stories.

Dr. Williams and African Medical Missions

Physicians who retire often relish the thought of spending more time at home with family, taking some well-deserved vacations and escaping the demands of paperwork and financial concerns that come with private practice. When Dr. Samuel Williams, a general and vascular surgeon from Virginia, retired more than a decade ago, he discovered that locum tenens work allowed him to enjoy all three of those perks — while still practicing medicine in the U.S. and serving medical missions abroad. “The bulk of my medical mission work has been with hospitals in west Africa, in the country of Togo.” Dr. Williams says. “These people come in needing help desperately. To be able to treat them and see so many of them make a full recovery brings satisfaction that’s beyond description. It’s an awesome responsibility to have a person’s life in your hands in a very real way.” To find out more about Dr. Williams and read more about what he likes about locum tenens in this post.

A Life of Adventure and Service – Meet Dr. O’Rourke

After 13 years and 23 locum tenens assignments with CompHealth, Dr. Terence O’Rourke can say confidently that his life is an adventure.

“Locums allows me to do as much traveling as is feasible and has been a ticket to get me places to see,” Dr. O’Rourke expresses. “When you can go to a place and work there for a while, you get a much better sense of what it is. I just want more of it — more adventure.”

A family medicine physician based in Pennsylvania, Dr. O’Rourke says he became a doctor because he wanted to work in third-world countries and make a difference. His locum tenens assignments allow him the flexibility to travel frequently, and he’s been to Africa for medical missions five times, living there for nearly three years total. “People have a lot of misperceptions about what actually happens [in Africa]. They think you’ve got angelic music playing all day and everybody’s grateful and you’re walking on air — but most of the time you’re just slogging through, only with fewer resources and more confusion with the language barriers and traditions,” Dr. O’Rourke recalls. “I found working there, especially in Swaziland, exhilarating. To be in such demand and so busy; there is nothing like it here. When I was there, I really felt I was doing what I was put on this earth to do.” But Dr. O’Rourke doesn’t just travel to Swaziland. He’s worked as a doctor in Saint Lucia, The Dominican Republic, Zambia, Tanzania, India and New Zealand as well. Learn more about Dr. O’Rourke.

Shoes and Socks for Bhutan Monks

Dr. Gautam Gadey is an interventional cardiologist and receives glowing reviews from his work as a locum tenens provider. A prolific world traveler, he has climbed peaks in the Himalayas and gone on African safaris. But more than that he looks for ways to help the people of the places he visits. In the past year he completed the fundraising, sourcing, and shipping of shoes and socks to the young monks of Phajoding Monastery in Bhutan right before the snow season when the monks need closed shoes to live in the cold and ice.

Dr. Oghafua Invents Food Processor

Dr. Gregson Oghafua is an interventional cardiologist originally from Nigeria. He invented a food processor that processes fufu, a staple food in many countries in Africa and Caribbean. Dr. Oghafua’s invention is invaluable because it eliminates the intense labor of pounding and paddling and can process several traditional foods such as yams, plantains, wheat, amala, ugali, and garri. The food processor has several other uses such as cooking rice, stews, soups and gumbo. He has spent years perfecting his machine and has recently been trying to get on the TV show Shark Tank to present his invention in hopes of securing funding to produce it on a broader scale. If you're looking for more time to give back or pursue your passions, maybe you should give locum tenens a try.