Dr. Madalyn Davidson and DMDwhere Locum History

I have been a locum dentist for the past six years of my twelve-year career. I was introduced to locuming when a dental school classmate asked me to cover her maternity leave for two months. The word quickly spread among my other classmates and colleagues and before I knew it I had licenses in five states.
Locuming is a well-established form of practice in the medical field. You may have heard of a “traveling physician”. It is becoming more prevalent in the dental field, as more dentists (who locum) are using locuming as a means of finding the ideal practice location, having more flexibility in their schedule or transitioning to retirement.
The demand for locuming dentists is on the rise due to owner dentists seeking flexibility in ownership, taking time off for maternity leaves, or medical absences.
In my six years of locuming, I have covered maternity and paternity leaves, rural and urban public health clinics, private practice, DSO offices, high-end boutique practices, medical absences for procedures ranging from planned double knee replacements to emergency heart surgery, extended vacations, military contracting, volunteer missions trips, and to retain the value of a practice for the family of a dentist after his passing.
This work allowed me to see a great deal of the country during a time in my life when I was exploring where to live and practice. Locuming allows a dentist to explore different states, cities, or even different neighborhoods. In my case, most of the locum jobs I took resulted in a job offer. Locuming allowed me to work and learn while waiting for the ideal associateship (or in my case, ownership opportunity) to arise.
I was able to observe many styles of practice and develop expertise in a variety of products and tools. This wide variety of experience has enhanced my skills and increased my understanding of dentistry! Locuming can be a unique type of residency.
I recommend that you consider locuming if you are interested in making a change in your career or are an owner looking for someone to cover your practice. Even if you have an associate and plan to be gone from your practice for only one week, that empty chair can have repercussions on your schedule and your patients’ continuity of care. Also coming back to work with a full schedule is an invaluable aspect of hiring a locum.
Locuming has been such a rewarding type of work for me that I want to help others for whom it would be a good fit and that is how DMDwhere found its roots.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions on how to find a highly skilled locum to cover your practice, if you are a highly skilled locum and looking for jobs, or are just interested in how it all works. Allow DMDWhere to be your resource for all things Dental Locuming!

Contact me at: madalyn@ddswhere.com
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