Locum Tenens
Larry Johnson, MD
Board Certified Family Medicine
Larry Johnson, M.D., gave 30 years to the United States Navy Medical Corps, from which he retired as a captain and the director of two Navy family medicine residencies. During that time, he also devoted 19 years to national leadership positions for the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has been married to his wife Rita for 36 years and has played the baritone horn in the Home Town Band for 15. As these "statistics" show, Dr. Johnson sticks with what he values. VISTA Staffing Solutions is helping him continue one of his primary allegiances, practice as a family physician.
Dr. Johnson started his career as a resident at the Naval Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina and ultimately, treated patients at Naval hospitals and family medicine clinics across the country, including Camp Pendleton and San Diego, Calif., and Bremerton, Wash. During his full–time military practice, Dr. Johnson also developed, staffed and directed the first and second Navy primary care/family medicine clinics in San Diego and Coronado, Calif.
As to why he became a Navy "lifer," Dr. Johnson says, "I kept getting fun jobs that I liked. I signed up for two years and ended up staying for 30."
Although he decided to hang up his Naval uniform in 1999, Dr. Johnson wanted to continue treating patients. However, he had no desire to work full–time or start a private practice. Looking for a solution, Dr. Johnson interviewed several professional staffing groups at a medical conference in 1998. Dr. Johnson and Rita were most impressed by VISTA’s style and presentation. "Other staffing companies sent representatives who were not well versed about their company's services," remembers Rita. "We felt like we were talking to used car salesmen. VISTA, on the other hand, really knew their stuff."
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Johnson sensed a commitment to VISTA was imminent, but asked the company’s recruiters not to "bug him" until he was ready to sign up. They honored his request and on April 1, 1999, Dr. Johnson extended his career by becoming a locum tenens. Today, his affiliation with VISTA, one of the largest temporary physician staffing firms in the country, allows Dr. Johnson to practice on a part–time basis while he travels from state to state with Rita. To date, they have toured the country and enjoyed locum tenens assignments in hospitals, clinics and a private practice in Ohio, New Mexico, Washington, South Dakota, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.
Now attuned to his style, VISTA regularly contacts Dr. Johnson about new assignments. The company makes it easy for him to continue practicing medicine by making all the arrangements associated with a temporary placement, including providing malpractice insurance. Once he accepts a new assignment, VISTA helps him secure new licenses, complete the credentialing process and apply for hospital privileges. He says the company’s professional staff appreciates the depth of his family medicine experience. "They work hard to find places that are comfortable for me to work," he says. "And, they keep inviting me back even when I say no, which happens more often than not."
For Dr. Johnson, the transition from military to civilian practice required no major adjustment. The main difference was obvious, since clothing in a military facility is pretty "uniform." "Otherwise," says Dr. Johnson, "most things remain pretty much the same–– types of patients, their illnesses, the medical routines and procedures." Dr. Johnson has observed, however, that some civilian practices are more streamlined than military facilities. As a stickler for quality, he says he would like to see more use of technology to help improve patient care.
Dr. Johnson prefers assignments that last a couple of months. However brief his stay, he focuses on trying to make a difference for the patients and the medical staff. He believes that "a locum tenens physician can sometimes see something that has been missed by long–term care providers, perhaps a procedure that could be improved." He also says that, like full–time colleagues, temporary physicians have to keep their wits about them in a really busy facility to ensure the safety and quality of patient care.
Dr. Johnson’s professional reputation precedes and follows him, so it is no surprise that he is often asked to stay at an assignment and work full time. But he has developed a passion for working part time as a locum tenens physician and plans to continue. He and his wife take great pleasure in traveling by car from one assignment to the next, with an occasional stop at home in Bremerton.
Beyond the pure joy of travel, the locum tenens lifestyle lets Dr. Johnson and Rita catch up with friends all over the United States, some of who have also retired from the military. Often, as he settles into a new temporary assignment, Rita volunteers at community centers. And when they are not on the road, Dr. Johnson volunteers one day a week as a Red Cross physician at the Bremerton Naval Hospital.
No one knows how many more years Dr. Johnson will continue traveling to different cities helping healthcare facilities ensure the quality and continuity of patient care. When they entered the locum tenens lifestyle six years ago, the good doctor and his wife made an agreement. Whenever one of them says it’s time to quit, they will retire. Until then, VISTA will keep inviting him back.
