Often, Floyd Lee Locums shares how locum tenens work can be an opportunity for career growth regardless of the stage a person’s career is in. Whether for those early on, trying to pay off student debt, looking to work less hours, or create an offramp to retirement—the locums lifestyle provides advantages. For veterans, it can provide a transition to civilian life.
Dr. Al Williams is the perfect example of this: a man who has had an incredible career in dentistry (and beyond!), and who chose to work in locums due to its many possibilities.
“I graduated from the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry in 1981,” said Dr. Williams. “After four years in private practice, I decided to join the Army, where I was a Dental Officer for 22 years until I retired in 2006.”
As part of Dr. Williams’ illustrious career, he was also on the frontlines during 9/11. As Assistant Director of the Pentagon Dental Clinic at the time, his team was one of the first on the scene providing aid and evacuating as many people as possible, even before they had an understanding of what had happened that day.
More recently, in the last decade, he reached a point where locums felt like a fit for his career. Beginning contract Dentistry in 2017, he quickly found Floyd Lee Locums only a year later in 2018.
Working across the Virginia State Correction Facility System, Dr. Williams has supported the care and treatment of patients within five state-run correctional programs. He notes that Floyd Lee Locums’ unique understanding of correctional facilities and their role requirements enabled him to better find the right assignments. It also didn’t hurt that he felt the company had the right mix of traits to maximize his experience.
“Floyd Lee Locums displays a proper mix of professionalism, levity, enthusiasm, and serves to create an atmosphere of warmth between itself and its clients,” said Dr. Williams. “I feel these people are my friends. They always remember my birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries. I even get support for my next week’s assignments on Sunday—I don’t know any other locums companies offering Sunday service.”
While he admits what originally drew him to the company was the money and pay scale, it’s not what kept him there. That doesn’t mean he still doesn’t receive offers either.
“I get asked all the time, by locums companies big and small, to work in Indiana or work in Ohio,” continued Dr. Williams. “They say the amount I’ll be paid and how lucrative it will be for me, but nothing else comes close to the pay scale of Floyd Lee Locums.”
At 72 years old, Dr. Williams knows good partnership when he sees it. As he considers what’s next on his adventure, we want to thank him—and providers like him—for trusting us to be a part of their career and letting us join them on their journeys providing care.
For Floyd Lee Locums, being a part of clinicians’ lives is the greatest privilege and why we do what we do. Because for us, it’s personal.
To celebrate National Locum Tenens Week, Floyd Lee Locums is periodically releasing Locums Week articles dedicated to the changing face of our industry, our love of the locums lifestyle, and the professionals who make it all possible. To read more articles like this, visit our blog.