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This is part of an ongoing monthly series capturing the highs and lows of my life as a locum doctor in Singapore, with occasional rambles about issues faced by junior doctors/healthcare workers. If you’re interested in getting answers to doctoring-related questions, check out my Chasing Careers series!
Based on the number of Instagram DMs I’ve been receiving from MOHH doctors considering switching from working in public hospitals to GP clinics (or locum GP work), it seems like resignation season is upon us once again.
Yet another batch of doctors just finished their 5-year bonds (congrats! 🥳), and a small handful of my peers are getting ready to break their bonds. For the NUS Med Class of 2021 (my batch), time flies and it’s now been slightly over 3 years since we started work as doctors. 3 years down, 30+ to go (or earlier if you FIRE)!
In the wake of tax season last month, my friends in the private medical sector (mostly in Aesthetic Medicine) were bemoaning the amount of taxes they had to pay. I thought to myself, “If only I had that high a salary to begin with…” In this month’s post, I’ll be spilling more tea on job security as a locum GP, the challenges of building a career in the private medical sector and my experience so far.
Job security as a locum GP
A common question that I’m asked is “Is it possible to make a stable living as a locum GP?” and my answer is always a resounding yes. Locum General Practitioner work is essentially freelance work, but with a relatively stable and constant supply of clinic sessions to select from.
There’s a number of ways locum GPs go about getting freelance gigs/clinic slots, the most common one being accepting clinic sessions posted on various Whatsapp or Telegram groups. Or in the amusing words of a non-medical friend after I explained how doctors obtain locum work, “So it’s like a Grab or FoodPanda rider accepting a job offer?” Well if you put it that way…that’s true.
Despite locum work technically being freelance, it involves far less legwork, sweat and tears compared to freelancers in other industries. Some friends/family are freelancers, and when I hear about how much harder they have to work for opportunities, coupled with the less certain financial returns of their projects/contracts, I feel particularly grateful for the ability to work as a locum GP.
As vocal as we might be about the poor work-life balance, harsh working conditions, sacrifices and other drawbacks of working as a junior doctor, it’s also important to remember the silver linings of this job (even though these don’t directly negate the drawbacks of being a doctor).
I was browsing this Reddit thread and this particular comment resonated with me:
It’s true that there are not many jobs that offer such a high degree of job security, which is precious in this economy. Seeing talented SWEs go from $200k+ salaries in Google/Meta to jobless, or investment banking peers being laid off and losing their $30k/month salaries – doctors, even locums, have iron rice bowls in comparison.
For freelancers/locum GPs, there is more to ‘work’ than simply showing up, doing your tasks and collecting a paycheck. There are a bunch of additional steps:
- Searching for work: Scouring the various platforms for potential clinic sessions
- Scheduling: Not all places offer full-day slots, so you may have to locum in 2-3 clinics to get a full day’s worth of work and salary. So you have to look for clinics that are near enough to each other and be meticulous in maintaining your calendar so you don’t double book slots!
- Commuting: Depending on whether you drive or take public transport to your locum clinic, you’ll be zipping all around the island for work! You won’t have the privilege of a standard and predictable morning commute, but a huge perk is that you’ll get to explore a lot more of Singapore
- Checking for payment: Rarely, the clinics may forget or miscalculate your payment, so you’ll need to keep track of the amount due and chase for payment when necessary
But overall, it’s just minor administrative tasks, a piece of cake relative to all the filing of claims (on-call pay, weekend rounding pay, transport claims, etc.) you had to do when you worked for MOHH! As a locum, the overall cognitive load is low and you’ll enjoy great job security, so I’d 10/10 recommend it if you’re passionate about work-life balance (check out my full post on Locum FAQs!).
I’ve written about the perks of a reduced cognitive load in a previous post (from January 2023), and I still feel that it’s far less stressful to work be a GP or self-employed doctor than to work in a hospital setting. Ultimately, everyone is called to pursue different paths, which brings me to my next topic on building a career in the private sector.
But first, a quick plug for my online locum templates:
I’ve created a set of concise yet effective online templates for over 70 common conditions, procedures & vaccinations that I’ve been consistently updating since 2022, and it’s been a lifesaver. It took many hours, is 60+ pages long and covers almost all the conditions you’d encounter in a GP clinic, as well as common medications and paediatric dosages. This will save you HOURS of work, so just drop me a DM on Instagram or via my contact form if you’re interested in getting a copy of it! 🙂
Building a career in the private medical sector
Depending on your aspirations, locum work can be more of a side quest to earn some income while you pursue other things in life, whether career-related or not. The best part is that you really can have it all – relative financial stability, your desired work-life balance and time/energy to pursue your other dreams!
Whether it’s business-related matters, clinic work or family/caregiving, I have peace of mind knowing that my schedule is entirely within my control. No one’s going to activate me for a standby call on a Saturday, no dangerously ill patient is going to enter the ward at 4.50 pm and I don’t have to project annual leave 3+ months in advance…
Personally, I’m spending 2024 as a part-time student, doing a Graduate Diploma in Mental Health (out of sheer interest) and an accredited online MBA with Quantic (to quickly attain more technical knowledge for growing our business). When I’m not busy with coursework, I have the freedom to allocate my time according to my priorities for that week.
Among non-specialists who venture into the private medical sector in Singapore, a vast majority become General Practitioners/Family Physicians in GP clinics. Another popular field is Aesthetic Medicine, which pays far better than GP work ever could, although the nature of Aesthetics may be less fulfilling to some – it’s less about healing patients and more about improving customers’ appearances.
If you’re fresh out of the public sector (hospital/community hospital/polyclinic) or a recent MOHH escapee and have sufficient rainy-day funds, I’d recommend taking the time to explore your options before signing yet another bonded contract. In exchange for having their bonds bought out, some of my seniors signed multi-year contracts with GP chains or Aesthetic clinics but have since come to regret their choice of employers.
Whether it’s exploring clinical vs non-clinical work, GP vs locum vs Aesthetics, or simply figuring out your personal life (travel, family planning, etc.), there’s no single ‘correct’ career path. The beauty of being out of the system and no longer having a relatively fixed career trajectory is that you enjoy complete autonomy and are free to build something aligned with your interests (if you’re keen on business or non-clinical work) or enjoy a calm life as a GP with regular hours (and a lot more time with your loved ones).
Longevity Medicine in Singapore
Those of you who’ve been following Noviu Health’s journey since our healthcare company was founded in Q4 2023 know that my co-founders and I are passionate about making Longevity Medicine & Preventive Health accessible, by offering affordable yet comprehensive biomarker testing to help you reach your health goals and remain disease-free (P.S. Drop us a follow on Instagram)!
When we first created the local DON’T DIE community (inspired by Bryan Johnson’s Longevity Medicine and health movement), we never dreamt it would grow this quickly and become a thriving community of health enthusiasts. 5 months of meetups and 230+ members later, we’re proud of how far we’ve come as a local longevity community!
We recently hosted yet another fruitful weekend meetup at Trapeze Rec Club with a great turnout of over 40 members. We hosted insightful panel discussions on Bryan Johnson and Peter Attita’s supplement stacks, featuring my Noviu Health co-founder and Longevity Medicine expert Dr Hisham!
I’m ultra-passionate about Lifestyle Medicine – the science of how simple lifestyle/habit modifications combined with regular health screenings can maximise your disease-free years – so I’m always down to chat if you’d like to learn tips and tricks to optimise your health, nutrition and fitness.
Be sure to drop by our next meetup and hangout with our growing network – join our Whatsapp group to chat about health/supplements/nutrition/science and get updates on our free monthly meetups (which are often hosted at trendy gyms or wellness spaces)!
My song rec for this month is a song I’ve been playing on repeat since it came out, Risk by Gracie Abrams (yes, I’m a diehard pop girlie). And fun fact, her dad is the film director J.J. Abrams:
God, I’m actually invested
Haven’t even met him
Watch this be the wrong thing
Classic
God, I’m jumping in the deep end
It’s more fun to swim in
Heard the risk is drownin’, but I’m gonna take it
If you’re curious about what I do when I’m not blogging, why not follow my Instagram for a sneak peek into my life as a locum doctor in Singapore, travel adventures and hobbies! And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog’s mailing list to read my upcoming posts hot off the press! 😛
xoxo,
Faith
P.S. This blog is my passion project and is entirely self-funded, so if you enjoy my writing and want to contribute some spare change towards maintaining this blog, why not make a little donation here? 🙂
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If you’re interested in exploring my blog, click here for an index of all the posts I’ve ever written (travel, doctoring, psychology, random musings), or check out my most read series below:
- the Chasing Dreams series: a series chronicling my thoughts, dreams & changing ideals over the years (since 2018), including burnout, quitting the rat race, migration and trying to find my path in life
- the (not-so-definitive) guide to doctoring: Getting into Med School & FAQs | Surviving your Clinical Years | MBBS Tips | Life as a M1 // M2 // M3 // M4 // M5 during COVID // Life as a Doctor (monthly series) | Chasing Careers series
Chasing Faith and Love 