Point out these advantages to the right interviewer, and you may be able to negotiate.
Dr. Badlani encourages new hires to negotiate their moving expenses, bonuses, and malpractice insurance.
But keep in mind that not all hospital medicine programs can or will negotiate. “It’s quite variable,” admits Dr. McCurdy.
Dr. Harris’ program is a prime example. “In my experience, we don’t have a tremendous amount of negotiating,” she says. “Basically, we say, ‘Here’s the deal.’ ”
Dr. McCurdy advises having someone else read the contract for you. “When you’re enthusiastic about a new job, you don’t see everything,” he explains. “And you need to have a lawyer read it to make sure it’s a correctly constructed legal document.”
Dr. Harris simply advises that you “read through the contract with a fine-tooth comb. Does it have a non-compete clause that prohibits you from practicing in the region after you leave? You can find a job [locally] without this clause.”
Dr. McCurdy has allowed new hires to strike these clauses from their contracts, but it’s a trade-off. “Non-compete clauses are hard to enforce,” he acknowledges. “Our boilerplate contract has one, because we want to send the message that we don’t want to spend two years training you and then have you leave and go to work for the competition. So if [a candidate] wants to strike that clause from the contract, I’ll say that’s fine, but on the basis of that I’ll make it a binding three-year contract.”
What if, after researching, interviewing, reviewing the contract, and taking every step possible to ensure you get the best job, you find you’ve made a mistake? “Remember, your contract is only for one year,” Dr. Badlani points out. “You can always change next year if you don’t like your [first choice].” TH