74 | Dr. Lillian Tnew on locuming in Aotearoa 101

This episode is timed to release as the new year is soon to begin and many of our colleagues are stepping away to start their locuming journey. We hope that this can begin to answer some of the questions about locuming and provide some clarity and reassurance. 

Originally hailing from Malaysia, Dr. Lilian Tnew moved to New Zealand aged 18 to pursue a medical degree at Otago Medical School. While training in rural medicine, she has spanned experience as a medical registrar and anaesthetic registrar. She has enjoyed locuming for two years around New Zealand, from as far south as Invercargill to as far north as Whangārei. She joins us today to discuss the pearls and pitfalls of being a locum doctor. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Reasons for locuming
• Ideal timing in your career to locum
• Picking an agency
• Agencies vs casual employment 
• Bad experiences
• Finding jobs 
• Travel and accommodation arrangements 
• Indemnity insurance
• Finances - accountants, Xero, Hnry, taxes, GST, tax-deductible expenses, superannuation & Kiwisaver 
• InPractice/MCNZ/BPAC
• Leaving anaesthetics training for rural medicine 

It was a conscious decision to not mention any specific locum agencies to keep this episode as neutral as possible. For this reason, even though we are both registered with locum agencies, I have not linked any referral codes or affiliate links. Referral links will provide both you and the referrer a referral bonus of anywhere between $500 to $2000 - if you would like a referral link, please feel free to contact me or the speaker directly.

The primary agencies in New Zealand, as far as we are aware, include: STAT Recruitment, MedRecruit, Global Medics, Triple0 and Ochre. This episode is not sponsored by any of the agencies above and not affiliated.

Similarly,  the primary accounting platforms mentioned are Xero and Hnry. Since publishing this episode, I have signed onto Hnry in an effort to become slightly more independent and savvy!
If you would like a referral bonus of $25 for Hnry: https://app.hnry.io/r/MAPLE88085

Chapters

• 0:00 Lilian Tnew
• 1:15 Finding medicine
• 1:50 Landing in New Zealand from Malaysia
• 3:34 Why locum?
• 4:40 When to locum?
• 7:08 Picking an agency
• 8:42 Agencies vs casual employment contracts
• 10:53 Finding jobs with agencies
• 12:10 Bad experiences?
• 14:18 Settling in as a locum in different settings
• 17:41 Is there a stigma?
• 19:30 Travel & accommodation?
• 20:28 Indemnity insurance
• 20:56 How do finances work in locuming?
• 22:54 Tax-deductible expenses
• 24:02 GST registration
• 26:04 Accountants vs Xero vs Hnry
• 28:39 Superannuation and Kiwisaver
• 30:24 Pitfalls of locuming - no leave!
• 31:58 InPractice/MCNZ
• 33:28 Finding supervisors for BPAC
• 34:26 Leaving anaesthetics
• 39:40 Finding rural medicine