Founder
“I recruit pediatric physicians for a living. The ones who go locum don't regret it. This platform exists to help more of them make that jump.”
Logan Gordon
Pediatric Physician Recruiter · CompHealth · Bitcoin Maximalist
The Full Story
I graduated with a BS in Biology and Chemistry on a dental school track. Then 2020 happened. COVID put everything on pause — dental school applications, plans, timelines. Like a lot of people, I had a window of forced stillness I hadn't asked for. I used it to read. Finance, economics, the history of money. I took a financial education course that cracked something open. For the first time I saw the system clearly: how debt gets normalized as the price of a career, how institutions extract value from the people doing the actual work, how the “standard path” is engineered to keep you dependent on it.
That realization pointed me toward recruiting. Specifically toward physicians — a group of people who have done everything right by every conventional measure and still find themselves exhausted, indebted, and locked into employment contracts that quietly trade their autonomy for a steady paycheck. I joined CompHealth to place pediatric physicians in locum tenens assignments. Four years and 200+ placements later, I'm more convinced than ever that locum tenens is one of the most underutilized tools a physician has to take back agency over their career and their life.
Locum tenens isn't a compromise. It's a different model — one where you choose where you go, when you work, and how long you stay. No RVU quotas, no administrator pressure, no contract that treats patient volume as your primary value metric. The physicians I've watched build locum careers are practicing medicine the way they trained to practice it. And they're building real wealth while they do it.
The financial side is inseparable from the career side. Physicians are high earners who are systematically undertaught on money — how 1099 income works, how to structure retirement accounts, how the tax code actually favors the self-employed if you know what to look for. I went deep on this out of necessity and built the tools I couldn't find anywhere else. Unchained MD is the resource I wish I could hand every physician I talk to: honest tools, real market data, and the insider knowledge to build a career and a financial life on your own terms.
What Logan Knows
What Locum Freedom Actually Looks Like
Perm contracts come with productivity quotas, RVU targets, and pressure to see more patients faster. Locum tenens flips the model: you choose where you work, when you work, and how much. Your schedule is yours. That's not just a financial upgrade — it's a different relationship with medicine.
Locum Contracts — What to Watch
I've reviewed hundreds of locum contracts. The clauses that matter most aren't always the obvious ones — cancellation windows, tail coverage gaps, and exclusivity language can catch physicians off guard. Knowing what to ask for before you sign is half the battle.
Peds & Peds Hospitalist Market
My lane is pediatric medicine. Outpatient peds and peds hospitalist physicians are in genuine high demand — and the locum market reflects that. I work in this space every day. I know which markets are growing, which are saturated, and what realistic compensation looks like.
Real Market Rates
Not what Glassdoor says. Not what a colleague heard third-hand. The actual rates physicians are earning, by specialty, by model, by region. I built the pay calculator because every existing tool I found was either outdated or built by someone who'd never sat across from a facility contract.
Bitcoin (Not "Crypto")
I'm a Bitcoin maximalist. Not a trader, not a speculator. I believe hard money is a physician's best defense against decades of currency debasement quietly eroding their savings. I've done the reading. I hold my own keys. And I'll explain why — without the hype.
How to Choose the Right Agency
Not all locum agencies are the same. The best ones handle credentialing, malpractice, housing, contracts, and logistics so you can just show up and practice medicine. When you work with a white-glove agency, you're not losing anything — you're buying back your time and working with someone who has your back.
Background
Disclosure: I work as a physician recruiter at CompHealth. Unchained MD is an independent project — it is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by CHG Healthcare or CompHealth. Opinions expressed here are my own. Nothing here constitutes legal, tax, or financial advice. I am not a CPA, attorney, or financial advisor. Consult qualified professionals for your specific situation.