The locum tenens definition is literally translated from Latin as “one holding a place.” In modern healthcare, the term locum tenens provider refers to a physician or advanced practice provider who fills in for another clinician while he or she is unavailable.

In the medical field, locum tenens are contracted physicians who substitute for a physician who has left the practice, or who is temporarily unavailable (e.g., on medical leave, on vacation, etc.).

Locum tenens is a Latin phrase meaning "place holder", akin to the French lieutenant . In the United Kingdom, the NHS on average has 3,500 locum doctors working in hospitals on any given day, [2] with another 17,000 locum general practitioners. [3]