“I don’t think I’d ever go back into full-time work”

Before I became a locum...

I was working as a resident quite locally, in an independent practice. But it was quite a quiet practice, and they didn't need an optometrist as much as I wanted to work at that point. I wanted to see, with locum work, if I could find work close by, and if I could pick when I wanted to work.

When I started as a locum, I wish I had known…

That the local optical committee (LOC) websites tell you how to do referrals. If you look on the LOC website and type in whatever area it is, the local committee will have information about referrals. I didn’t know this existed initially. I’d rely on people to tell me, and not everyone knew. It would be very difficult. You panic. You think ‘oh, how do I do a referral? No one knows.’

I’d try and get in contact with optometrists who had worked in the practice previously, to get guidance on what to do. When I realised the LOC websites existed, I started finding the local pathway for the area that way, and then it was so much easier.

The person who has helped me most in locuming is…

My husband. He started locuming before I did, so he would give me tips.

My biggest locum challenge is…

When you’re new to a practice and there’s loads of new equipment, especially optical coherence tomography (OCT). You need to figure out how to use each different programme. Equipment is the biggest thing. Walking up to the practice, sometimes I get really nervous. You think, ‘Oh, what have they got?’ But once you get used to it, after the first day, you’re fine.

Practices can make life easier for locums by…

Not starting them with the patient right away. Give them half an hour after the opening time. I’m always early, but practices don’t always open early, so you don’t always get in until 9am anyway. If your patient is booked at 9am, you’ve got to just get on with it. So maybe start a little bit later, or let the locum start a bit earlier, just to get used to everything – especially if it is a new practice for them.

I’ve been lucky, I think. I’ve been in practices that are quite nice. It feels like I’m part of the team. I think as long as you show that you’re not a bad locum, by turning up late, for example, you’re fine. I’ve never had anyone treat me any differently.

My favourite thing about being a locum is…

Convenience. With my little boy, I try and work on the days he’s at nursery, so I’m not missing out on him too much since he’s there for a chunk of the day.

I don’t think I’d ever go back into full-time work. Maybe when he’s at school, if I can get a school hours job. It’s okay while he's in nursery, but I think when he gets to school, it might be a bit more difficult. I don’t want to be working weekends then, because he’ll be at home.

At the moment, I can work when I want and have time off when I want. When you’re employed you have to submit everything to get your time off. This way, if you know you’re doing something, you just save up work in the run up to it.

With my little boy, I try and work on the days he’s at nursery, so I’m not missing out on him too much since he’s there for a chunk of the day

As a locum, I’ve adapted my days by…

Getting up earlier. Because I was working locally when I was a resident, I could wake up later. Now I’m slightly further out, often locuming in Stoke-on-Trent and travelling from Birmingham, so it involves waking up early.

The biggest difference between being a resident and a locum is…

When I was a resident, I could follow up on patients whenever I wanted. As a locum you’re not guaranteed to come back, so you can’t book them in for a different day. It can be a bit much, when you’ve got to do everything on that day. All your referrals have to be done. It’s difficult leaving them for someone else, because then they’ve got to figure out why you’re dilating them, or why you’re doing certain things. If you’ve got it all done in one day, it’s easier in the long-term – but it is hard, because everything has got to be done right then.

The one thing I would change about locum work is...

Because I’ve done the postgraduate in medical retina and the postgraduate in glaucoma, if there were specific clinics related to that that I could be involved in, I would be. If they existed, that would be nice for locums. But I don’t see many opportunities. I think they are more for resident optometrists in hospitals.