Locum Hospitalist Physician

Hospitalist Physician Opportunity

Northern Navajo Medical Center | Shiprock, New Mexico

Position Overview

Four Winds Staffing is seeking a Board-Certified Internal Medicine or Family Medicine physician to provide inpatient hospitalist services at Northern Navajo Medical Center (NNMC), a 55-bed Indian Health Service (IHS) hospital in Shiprock, New Mexico. NNMC serves the Navajo Nation and surrounding communities and is the primary referral hospital for the Shiprock Service Unit, which also includes the Dzilth-Na-O-Dith-Hle Health Center and Four Corners Regional Health Center.

This is a mission-driven, high-autonomy role with a broad clinical scope — general medicine admissions, ICU coverage, ED boarding management, and consults. You will work as part of a hospitalist team providing continuous inpatient coverage in a rural, culturally rich setting.

Opportunity Snapshot

Position

Physician (Hospitalist) — Internal Medicine or Family Medicine

Facility

Northern Navajo Medical Center (NNMC) — Indian Health Service

Location

US Hwy 491 North, Shiprock, NM 87420 (Shiprock Service Unit)

Setting

55-bed inpatient hospital with an open 5-bed ICU; adult general medicine service

Employment type

1099 independent contractor (non-personal services / locum tenens)

Contract term

Base period 4 option periods; each period is 6 months

Shift length

12 hours — 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM (day shift only, no nights)

Schedule model

7 on / 7 off (Mon–Sun or Fri–Thu), OR 14 shifts per 28 days in 3–4 day blocks

Patient population

Adult IHS patients (occasional adult admits on the pediatric ward)

Supervision

Chief of Internal Medicine (administrative only — you retain full clinical judgment)

Schedule

This is a day-shift-only assignment — no nights. Shifts are 12 hours in length, 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM. NNMC offers flexibility on how those shifts are arranged, and Four Winds will confirm a pattern with the facility supervisor before the assignment begins.

Model

Pattern

Total shifts / month

Option A — Week On / Week Off

7 consecutive 12-hour shifts, then 7 days off (Mon–Sun or Fri–Thu)

~14 shifts per 28-day period

Option B — Block Schedule

3–4 consecutive 12-hour shifts spread across the month

14 shifts per 28-day period

Shift hours

7:30 AM – 7:30 PM (day shift only — no nights)

12 hours per shift

Additional scheduling notes:

• Full commitment: You will work 100% of your contracted hours; any leave is coordinated through Four Winds so continuity of coverage is maintained.

• Variability: Some day-to-day variability is expected based on census, emergencies, and staffing.

• Documentation: All EHR documentation must be completed before the end of your shift. Delinquent charts must be closed before contract completion.

Clinical Responsibilities

You will provide inpatient hospitalist care to adult IHS patients, including:

• Admissions and observation admits to the General Medicine Service from the Emergency Department.

• Managing requests for transfer from outside hospital EDs and urgent cares in accordance with EMTALA.

• Cross-covering adult patients admitted to General Medicine — patients may be on the Med/Surg ward, ICU, or (occasionally) the Pediatric ward.

• Coverage for ED patients requiring short-term observation or boarding while awaiting transfer to a higher level of care.

• Managing critical care patients in the open 5-bed ICU, including patients requiring vasopressors or ventilator support.

• Overseeing inpatient medical care, discharge planning, and coordination of care.

• Providing consult services to admitted inpatients on other services (e.g., Surgery, OBGYN).

• Referring and transferring inpatients to a higher level of care when services are not available at NNMC.

• Occasional cross-cover calls on service-unit nursing home patients (rare).

• Departmental tasks as assigned — for example, EKG and PFT interpretations.

• Bedside procedures — lumbar puncture, paracentesis, thoracentesis, joint aspiration, and central line placement — are preferred and strongly encouraged.

Qualifications & RequirementsExperience

• Minimum 36 months of physician experience, with at least 12 months in an inpatient hospitalist setting.

• Recent ICU experience: Recent ICU experience is expected, including comfort managing vasopressors and ventilators in the open 5-bed ICU.

• Procedures (bonus): Ability to perform bedside procedures — central line placement, paracentesis, thoracentesis, lumbar puncture, and joint aspirations — is a plus but not absolutely required.

Licensure & Certifications

• License: Current, valid, unrestricted physician license in any U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. Territory (must remain valid throughout the contract).

• Board Certification (required): Active ABIM (Internal Medicine) or ABFM (Family Medicine) certification is required at the time of application and must remain active throughout the contract.

• Life Support: Current BLS and ACLS provider certifications are mandatory.

Health, Immunization & Background

• Fitness-for-duty certificate from a licensed physician.

• Immunity to Rubella, Mumps, and Rubeola (Measles).

• Hepatitis B vaccination series (×3), positive titer, or signed declination.

• Varicella — documented history, vaccination (×2), or positive titer.

• Tdap on file (Td booster if the last Tdap is more than 10 years old).

• TB screening (PPD or IGRA) within the past 12 months; chest X-ray and follow-up if history of a positive result.

• Annual influenza vaccination (Oct 1 – Mar 31), per IHS Mandatory Influenza Vaccination Policy.

• Federal background check and IHS credentialing screen — no history of license actions, employment/privilege revocations, violent-crime or sexual-misconduct findings, or DUI.

Other Requirements

• Ability to read, understand, speak, and write English effectively.

• Respect for and cultural awareness of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

• Basic computer skills for EHR documentation.

• Completion of mandatory facility orientation and training.

Compensation & Benefits

• Malpractice: Provided at no cost to the physician.

• Travel & housing: Travel, lodging, and rental car coordinated for out-of-area physicians.

• Credentialing support: Four Winds manages all IHS credentialing paperwork, background check, and privileging.

What It's Like to Work at NNMC

NNMC is a full-service IHS hospital in the Four Corners region — mesa country, high desert, and a short drive from Durango (CO), Farmington (NM), and Mesa Verde. Hospitalists here practice a broad, autonomous version of internal medicine that has become rare in urban systems: you manage your own ICU patients, run codes, place lines, and see pathology across the full acuity spectrum. If you value clinical breadth, mission-driven work, and time outdoors on your week off, this assignment is worth a conversation.

Next Steps

If this opportunity is a fit, please reply with:

• Current CV.

• Copies of your active state license(s), board certification, BLS, and ACLS.

• Two clinical references we can contact.

• Your preferred schedule (week-on/week-off vs. block) and earliest available start date.

Pay: $190.00 - $210.00 per hour

Expected hours: 84.0 – 168.0 per week

Benefits:

• Malpractice insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $190 - $210