“My dad was a doctor and he’d take me to the hospital with him and I liked it,” said Dr. Sarmina. “I wanted to be a surgeon, but didn’t want it to be too broad, so I specialized in urology.”
Dr. Sarmina spent one year at The Ohio State University doing postgraduate work in biochemistry. While there, he met his wife, Jenny, who managed his medical office. In 1979, Dr. Sarmina attended Medical College of Ohio at Toledo, where he graduated with honors as an MD.
“I try to correct the underlying problem instead of just treating a kidney stone,” said Dr. Sarmina, who had a practice in Durham, North Carolina before moving to Ohio where he practiced in Xenia and Beavercreek and was affiliated with the Kettering Health Network. “Sometimes it’s diet, or environmental, or exercising too much without hydrating.”
Not content to retire and leave the medical profession completely, Dr. Sarmina and his wife will be traveling to different hospitals where he will treat patients as a Locum Tenens. Locum Tenens is from the Latin term for place holder and in this case is a person who works as a temporary substitute for a regular doctor who is absent, or at a hospital that is short-staffed.
These doctors must still be licensed in the states where they have accepted assignments, however they are assisted in completing any required paperwork. The Locum Tenens is also provided an apartment, an automobile, transportation to the site and malpractice insurance.
In the case of Dr. Sarmina, the temporary position gives him an opportunity to travel and live in different areas of the country. His first assignment at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Klamath Falls, Oregon, gives him access to hiking trails, mountain biking and other healthy activities during his time off. After six months, he can opt to move to other states of interest like Maine, or he can negotiate to remain in Oregon.
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