The physician assistant's locum tenens guide: Can PAs build a long-term career with locums?
June 1, 2026
This is the fifth part in a five-part series on everything physician assistants need to know about working locum tenens. If you missed the previous installments, you can read them here:
There’s a common misconception that locum tenens is only a temporary fix. Something you do between permanent jobs. Something you try for a season before you settle down.
For some physician assistants, that’s true. But for others, locums becomes a long-term, satisfying career path—not because they couldn’t find something permanent, but because they found something that fit better.
Locums can be a real answer to burnout
Many experienced PAs reach a point at which the traditional model no longer feels sustainable. The schedule is rigid. The workload keeps expanding. Time off feels hard to take. The job starts to crowd out the rest of life.
That’s one reason long-term locums can be so appealing.
“Being a locum has helped me step back, take time off, and really address burnout,” says Terry Rand, PA.
For some physician assistants, that kind of breathing room isn’t a luxury. It’s what makes it possible to keep practicing well.
I feel like I have less stress in my life and more time to focus on patients and actually enjoy where I am.
Financially, locums can support long-term goals
Long-term locums can also make sense financially. Higher hourly compensation, paid travel and housing on many assignments, and access to benefits through the right employer structure can make locums more sustainable than people expect.
That can give PAs room to pay down debt, save more aggressively, or make career choices with more clarity and less pressure.
Dollars and cents: CompHealth offers PAs more than just a paycheck
It can also function like a career test drive
One of the smartest uses of locums is to explore before committing.
If it’s someplace that doesn’t fit, you get to leave, but if it is a good fit, maybe you can extend or even go permanent there.
That’s a powerful career advantage. Locums lets you test regions, facilities, schedules, and team cultures in real life, not just in an interview.
How locums can fit different life stages and career goals
One of the reasons locums can work so well long term is that it’s flexible enough to evolve with you.
For some early-career PAs, locums can be a way to build experience, strengthen adaptability, and get clearer on what kind of setting, schedule, or specialty feels like the right fit. For mid-career PAs, it can offer a reset, more autonomy, or a way to step back from the pressure and rigidity of a traditional permanent role.
For PAs with family responsibilities, locums can provide greater control over timing, workload, and time off. For those nearing retirement, it can be a way to keep practicing without staying tied to a full-time permanent schedule.
That flexibility also shows up in how PAs structure their work. Long-term locums can look like:
Taking back-to-back assignments with planned breaks in between
Combining locums with part-time permanent work
Using locums to supplement household income
Taking assignments during certain seasons of the year
Working locums while deciding where to settle long-term
Using locums as a bridge into semi-retirement
The model doesn’t have to look the same from one year to the next. That’s part of what makes it sustainable. As your priorities change, locums can change with them.
Locums enables me to have freedom—freedom to choose my assignments, vacation time, and where I live.
Financial planning matters more when you want locums to last
If you want locums to be a long-term career path, it helps to think strategically. That includes planning for:
Time between assignments
Savings goals
Retirement contributions
Insurance needs
Travel-related logistics
Seasonal changes in workload
This doesn’t mean locums is financially unstable. It means it works best when approached with intention.
How to maintain growth and continuity over time
One concern some PAs have is whether locums can feel too fragmented over time. But many long-term locums clinicians build continuity in other ways. They stay focused on a specialty they know well, return to facilities they like, work with the same recruiter over time, and choose assignments that support the kind of career they want.
Career growth doesn’t only come from staying in one place. It can also come from seeing enough environments to get clearer, sharper, and more selective about where you do your best work.
Finding work-life balance: Why these PAs made the switch to locums
Can locums lead to permanent opportunities?
Yes, and that’s one of the more practical advantages. Some PAs use locums specifically to try out a facility, region, or specialty arrangement before making a long-term decision. If the fit is strong, a temporary assignment can sometimes become something more permanent. If it isn’t, you leave with more information and less regret.
That makes locums a useful strategy for both freedom and clarity.
What makes locums sustainable over time?
Usually, it comes down to a few things:
Choosing assignments carefully
Protecting time off between roles
Partnering with a recruiter you trust
Staying realistic about your energy and goals
Using locums strategically, not reactively
PAs who do well long term tend to treat locums as a career design tool, not just a job format.
Questions to ask if you’re considering locums long term
Do I like variety, or do I mostly want flexibility?
What kind of assignment rhythm feels sustainable to me?
How much time off do I want to build into my year?
Do I want locums to replace permanent work or complement it?
What financial systems would help me feel secure doing this long term?
What kind of recruiter relationship would support me best over time?
The bottom line
Yes, locum tenens for PAs can absolutely be a long-term career for physician assistants. It can be stable, flexible, and deeply rewarding when it aligns with your priorities; for some PAs, that means using locums for a season. For others, it means building an entire career around freedom, variety, and control.
Go back to part four: How to succeed in a locums assignment
CompHealth can help you find the perfect PA job. Give us a call at 800.453.3030 or view today’s PA job opportunities