Mar 11, 2021
In the negotiation process, we have to advocate for ourselves and work towards signing a contract that aligns with our goals and our worth. Every contract is going to be different, but there are key common areas that we, as physicians, often overlook to our own detriment.
There are big areas where there’s room for negotiation at best, and
at worst, variability that might not benefit
us.
It’s also key to understand what we’re signing, and even though our
lawyers may have the knowledge, having a personal understanding of
the most important components of our contracts will only improve
our negotiation.
Besides compensation, what are the other areas we need to be aware
of in the negotiation? In this episode, I share some of the
intricacies that go into your contract and how to navigate
them.
Three Things You’ll Learn In This
Episode
One negotiable area we ignore on our
contracts
There’s
a fair amount of flexibility in the start date of your contract.
Even as a new physician, the start and end dates of your contracts
have more wiggle room and you should leverage it wherever
possible.
How to make sure your non-compete doesn’t work against
you
Non-competes don’t
benefit the physician, they benefit the employer. But in many
cases, there’s simply no avoiding them. If you’re signing a
non-compete, make sure you understand it and what it entails for
you. What’s the geographic range, how is the range calculated, does
it cover the role you have in the organization or your entire
specialty, and is there a pre-defined buyout if another opportunity
presents?
Why outside interests are a key area of our contracts we
can’t overlook
One of
the next areas of the contract that physicians overlook is outside
interests. Physicians are starting to have more outside activity to
supplement their income and contracts aren’t usually designed with
that in mind. It’s important to protect your inventions,
intellectual property and profits.