Locum Tenens Physician Assistant Recruiters
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
When you need a locum tenens physician assistant, the hiring decision starts with matching clinical duties, physician availability, and approved scope before discussing a start date.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
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What does this hire really come down to?
A coverage gap may involve clinic appointments, inpatient rounding, surgical assistance, or follow-up visits. Those assignments need different experience. We ask what the physician assistant will actually do during each shift, who will be available for consultation, and which duties your facility will authorize.
Start with the gap rather than the title. If coverage involves postoperative visits, ask about wound assessments, documentation, and escalation to the surgeon. A physician assistant with recent clinic experience may not be the right match for inpatient coverage.
Temporary work still needs a defined clinical structure. Identify the applicable state license, prescribing duties, physician relationship, and facility privileges before reviewing availability. Separate essential duties from tasks you can reassign. Your team completes credentialing and clinical assessment; we screen credentials, work history, and assignment fit through concrete questions.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Recent comparable work: Ask, “Which duties from this assignment have you performed recently?” A useful answer identifies the setting, patient population, procedures, and physician support. Ask what was performed independently and what involved consultation. Escalation judgment: Ask, “If a patient's condition changes while the physician is elsewhere, what information do you gather and whom do you contact?”
- Look for a clear account of escalation channels and responsibility, not an unsupported claim of independence.
- License and credential status: Ask, “Which state licenses are active, and what certification or prescribing credentials can you document?” Review the assignment's actual duties against those documents. Treat a preferred certificate as a preference unless a specific rule or facility policy makes it necessary.
- Handoffs and records: Ask, “How do you document pending results and transfer unfinished work at shift end?” A useful answer describes ownership, communication with the receiving clinician, and completion of notes within the facility's process.
- Procedure boundaries: Ask, “Which requested procedures have you performed, when, and under what supervision?” Look for specific experience and an honest account of limits. Your clinical team decides which procedures the physician assistant may perform.
- Assignment readiness: Ask, “What commitments could affect this schedule, and what orientation would you need?” A useful answer separates availability from credentialing readiness and names practical needs, such as record access, order entry, and local consultation contacts.
These are recruiting discussions about experience and stated credentials, not a substitute for clinical assessment. Your organization completes formal credentialing, license and privilege checks, and the hiring decision.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We look for physician assistants with backgrounds that match the assignment: outpatient practices, hospital services, surgical groups, urgent care settings, or established locum work. The right source pool depends on the duties. Surgical clinic experience alone does not establish readiness for operating room assistance or inpatient postoperative coverage.
Some clinicians may consider locum work between permanent positions or during a planned change in location. Others may seek assignments that fit an established temporary-work schedule. We ask about the reason for availability, recent practice, and schedule commitments rather than assuming that interest in temporary work proves assignment fit.
Which mistakes stall the search?
A common mistake is accepting an open calendar as proof of readiness. Confirm license status, credentialing steps, and clinical approval separately before treating a proposed start date as workable. Another is listing procedures without naming physician support. Specify consultation access and approved duties so candidates can discuss the work accurately rather than infer authority from the job title.
Skipping orientation because coverage is temporary. Plan access, documentation instruction, escalation contacts, and handoff expectations before the first patient encounter.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us the setting, patient population, schedule, expected duties, and physician availability. We discuss comparable work, credentials, availability, and assignment boundaries with candidates. Compare shortlisted candidates against the actual shift duties. Identify the license and privileges involved. You review clinical suitability and complete your own credentialing.
Define the assignment
If the gap spans several services, clarify whether one person must cover them all.
Review the match
Use interviews to test the specific duties that carry the greatest hiring risk.
Confirm the start
Have your clinical reviewers assess recent rounding, clinic, or surgical assistance experience as applicable. Discuss handoffs and physician consultation using examples from comparable assignments. Resolve any gaps between documented experience and requested privileges before selecting a candidate. Permanent/direct-hire recruitment is our core service across clinical, operational and leadership roles. If you need a temporary or other arrangement, describe the need so we can discuss whether we can help. Responsibilities and terms must be confirmed separately for that engagement. Your organization retains clinical assessment and credentialing responsibility. Whether we can help, and the responsibilities and terms, need separate confirmation. Agree on orientation, reporting contacts, and the assignment schedule before the clinician begins work.
Tell us the role and setting. We will discuss the work and terms with you before a search begins. There is no fixed shortlist or placement promise.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
National median annual wage. SOC 29-1071, Physician Assistants.
BLS reports Physician Assistants as one occupation. It does not publish a separate estimate for Locum Tenens Physician Assistant, its setting or its engagement terms.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025-05, released 2026-05-15. View source. See the full guide.
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Can we also discuss permanent PA recruitment?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. If it involves inpatient work, discuss admissions, handoffs, discharge preparation, and overnight physician access.
Can one physician assistant cover clinic and inpatient rounding?
Possibly, if recent experience supports both assignments. Review each service separately, including handoffs, physician access, and privileges.
How should we assess prescribing duties?
List the prescribing work involved. Check applicable licensing and authorization with your credentialing team before assigning those duties.
What should we ask about surgical assistance?
Ask which procedures the candidate assisted with and how recently. Your surgical team assesses competence and approves privileges.
What if coverage includes overnight work?
Describe overnight duties and physician availability explicitly. Ask about comparable shifts and how the candidate communicated unresolved concerns.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Send us the coverage duties, dates, and physician support plan. We can discuss a locum physician assistant search around the work you need covered.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- The initial conversation clarifies the work, location and search terms.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- When we recommend someone, you get reasons for fit and open questions to assess. We support interviews and offer discussions.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
Which other positions in this family should you consider?
What happens beyond the introduction?
We explain our recommendation in writing and flag what your team still needs to assess. We gather interview feedback, resolve practical questions and support offer discussions. The goal is the right person for the work, not simply a shortlist.
Read the full six-step search process · Compare recruiting models
What are the fee and payment terms?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed agreement sets the fee and when it is due, along with the placement terms. We agree those terms before the search starts and before any candidate introductions. Temporary or contract coverage is a separate arrangement.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.