Negotiating a physician employment contract can be a fraught experience for physicians of any age, and not just because they don’t do it very often. It’s also that most physicians don’t get enough training in the business of medicine, including what constitutes fair-market value for their services.
Nearly all physicians would agree that they are not in a position to even state their physician-salary expectations during employment interviews until they have access to relevant physician compensation data. But which data is most relevant?
There is a multitude of compensation surveys out there. To help physician job seekers parry difficult employment interview questions and get all the compensation they deserve, the AMA has teamed up with Resolve, a contract review and negotiation firm specializing in physician employment, to provide custom contract review to AMA members at a discount.
Resolve offers personalized legal experience to help physicians secure the best employment contract terms, no matter where they are in their careers. Ready to access your AMA-member Resolve discount? Learn more now.
Don’t overshare early on
Pretty much everyone—employers and physicians alike—prefers that salary negotiations don’t drag on, but it’s important that doctors avoid answering any questions about compensation definitively until a formal offer is made and they have engaged professional legal help in reviewing it.
One reason for this is that compensation is made up of a myriad of line items, from base pay to productivity requirements. If an employer’s offer in one area falls short of what you need, you might be able to make it up in another area.
All of which points to the need for comprehensive—and current—physician-salary data and overall physician-compensation information. That means pulling from multiple data sources.
Resolve has a proprietary physician compensation dataset, rData, which provides a comprehensive, real-time view of physician employment terms across the U.S.
Unlike reports from other sources, rData is verified with physician-employment contracts. All the salaries, signing bonuses, relocation allowances, and more are derived from actual contracts reviewed by attorneys. The data reflects up-to-date trends in each specialty's job market, providing an unbiased picture for negotiation.
rData is the first ever compensation data source generated directly from physician contracts. Backed by more than 30,000 contracts, it is creating a historic level of transparency in the physician employment market.
“We see an average increase of around $25,000 in compensation following our review,” said Kyle Claussen, CEO of Resolve. “Because we understand what fair-market value is. So if you're willing to negotiate and have an attorney help with the process, it's about a 25x return on investment.”
Learn more with the AMA about understanding physician employment contracts. And if you’re seeking your first physician job postresidency, get your cheat sheet now from the AMA.
5 signs the physician-salary data is solid
“If you’ve ever googled ‘physician salary for my specialty in my state’ and ended up with wildly inconsistent results, there’s a reason,” according to a blog post on Resolve’s website. “Salary data varies significantly in terms of quality, accuracy and relevance.”
The post cites five criteria to ensure salary data is trustworthy and “why pairing good data with a contract review helps you make decisions with confidence."
It’s verified. “Crowdsourced data can be a starting point, but it’s not strong enough for negotiation,” it says, noting that reliable salary information is typically, among other things, compiled using actual contracts.
It’s specific. “An ‘average physician salary’ doesn’t help anyone,” it notes. Besides being broken down by specialty and subspecialty, the data needs to specify geographic region, practice setting and position type.
It’s geographically relevant. “A national average doesn’t tell you what a cardiology offer looks like in Phoenix, or how a family medicine salary in Indiana differs from one in Seattle,” it says. Reliable data will take into account the specific state, subregions, comparisons of urban and rural areas, and practice type within geographic zones.
It reflects real-time market shifts. “Standard industry surveys (like MGMA or AMGA) are trustworthy, but they’re also annual. By the time the data is released, it may be 12 to 18 months old,” the post says. “The data on Resolve’s dashboard is updated every day.”
It accounts for more than base pay. “Physicians often overlook the contract terms that significantly impact their long-term earning potential,” it notes. There are numerous additional details that need to be known during physician salary negotiation, including productivity expectations, call schedule, tail coverage and noncompete clauses.
“A contract review from a trustworthy source, such as Resolve, brings the data into context by combining real market insights with a line-by-line interpretation of your actual offer,” the post says. “It’s not about being adversarial. It’s about getting clarity on the fine print, having protection against unfair work demands and knowing you have the decision-making capabilities to make well-informed decisions.”
AMA members receive a 20% discount on all Resolve services. With Resolve, you get:
- Custom contract review for any type of employment contract.
- Access to experienced attorneys who can negotiate on your behalf.
- Real-time, comprehensive compensation data and benchmarks to help you understand your worth.
- An instant contract-review option, powered by Resolve’s attorney-trained AI model.
- Free tools such as a contract scorecard to give a quick overview of where your contract stands.
Ready to access your AMA-member Resolve discount? Learn more now.
