David Bybee, MD
“F
ARGO! Are you crazy?” “It’s
freaking cold.” “They’ll put you
in a wood chipper.” These are
the kinds of responses I got when I told my
friends that I was going to do locum tenens
practice in Fargo, North Dakota. What I did
not hear, even once was “Why would you
want to do that? You’re retired and you don’t
have to work.” My medical friends all seem
to understand that we were given a great gift when we received the
knowledge and skills to be physicians and that to continue to share
that gift as long as possible is part of us.
I retired from Endocrine and Diabetes Associates on January 1,
2014 to, among other things, research a writing project on neuroscience at the beginning of the 20th century. Dr. Stephen Winters,
Chief of Endocrinology at the University of Louisville School of
Medicine, allowed me to participate in the teaching of the endocrine
fellows, residents and students which gave me a chance to use my
skills and continue to experience the joy of medical practice without
the daily hassles that plague us physicians.
My wife, Dr. Polly Coombs, had been incubating an idea to live
in the mountains for the beauty and better air. So we were off to
Alberta, Canada, in the eastern edge of the Rockies to a place that
we knew well and have relatives. When we found the perfect house
for us, the plan was set. Early on in our planning, I thought that I
could continue my work as a volunteer faculty member at the University of Calgary Medical School. Under the laws of Canada and
Alberta, non-Canadian physicians can not be employed if there are
Canadians that can fill the position, and Alberta has produced more
endocrinologists than there are slotted positions. I needed a plan B.
I thought that doing locum tenens work might allow me to continue to use my skills without having to work full time. My first
step was to go to the Internet. There are a number of locum tenens placement companies, including the VA, and my preliminary
research suggested that they were all about the same in outline of
services. I contacted my friend, Dr. Fred Ferris, who started a second
career doing locum tenens work when he retired from Nephrology
Associates. He and his wife, Keltie, met with me and had loads of
advice. There were details of how to get the local license, about the
accommodations, the types of work, some of the locations they
visited, and the reception he received as a visiting doctor. They also
gave reviews of the companies they had used.
Most of the companies offered periods of a month or longer. The
locations seemed to be mostly in more rural areas involving general
internal medicine along with the endocrine practice. Some were
office only and some had hospital practice as well and were either
with or without call. Only a very few were specialty specific and
one company, Weatherby Healthcare, had an office based purely
endocrine practice in two week cycles in Fargo, North Dakota,
which happens to be almost exactly half way between Louisville
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APRIL 2016
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