Accepting a new job is exciting, especially if it is your first attending position. While it is tempting to sign an employment contract as soon as possible, moving forward too quickly can permanently limit your career trajectory.
That is why the AMA has partnered with Resolve to provide custom contract review and negotiation services to AMA members at a discount. Resolve specializes in reviewing physician employment contracts, so their team has the experience needed to help physicians secure the best contract terms at any career stage.
AMA members receive a 20% discount on all Resolve services. With Resolve, you get:
- Custom contract review for any type of employment contract(s).
- 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 like a contract scorecard, to give a quick overview of where your contract stands.
Ready to access your AMA-member Resolve discount? Learn more now.
Not only does Resolve help physicians at all career stages, but they offer a variety of service levels for different needs and phases within the contract review process. Physicians can start with a self-guided option using attorney-trained AI and real-time salary data for instant contract review. If more support is needed, an attorney can be added at any point in the process.
Standard to higher level services connect you with an attorney who will review your contract(s) in full, take your priorities into account, make suggestions, and either coach you through negotiations or negotiate completely on your behalf. Your attorney will also provide detailed compensation data and help you understand the numbers, so you know how any compensation offer stacks up.
If you’re seeking your first physician job post-residency, get your cheat sheet now.
Dive deeper:
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- What should—and shouldn’t—be in a hospital employment contract
Why contract review matters
Even if you are not ready to review or negotiate a contract right now, Resolve’s education center provides a wealth of career resources for physicians. Their blog includes dozens of posts exploring various contract terms, job search, compensation numbers, and more. The podcast and video sections bring these topics to life, featuring countless interviews, Q&A sessions, and webinars with some of the top voices in physician employment.
Much of Resolve’s educational content highlights why reviewing and negotiating employment contracts is important for physicians. The reasoning also extends beyond just compensation, since physician contracts are complex agreements with many important terms.
“Negotiating items like salary or work schedule will have an instant, tangible impact on your work life and compensation from the day you start,” one article states. “However, there are many other terms that may not have consequences until you are months or years into a job, making them easy to overlook.”
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Resolve’s educational content and tools emphasize that reviewing a contract isn’t just about salary. Key clauses can affect your day-to-day responsibilities, job stability, and future opportunities. Some important topics to watch for include:
- Salary and bonuses.
- Work schedule and call hours.
- Work locations.
- Medical liability insurance tail coverage.
- Noncompete clauses and other restrictive covenants.
- Termination for or without cause.
- Outside activities restrictions.
- Equipment and support staff.
You may be more familiar with some of these terms than others, but carefully reviewing everything in a contract, or sometimes noting what has been excluded, is crucial to protecting your interests. This is where an experienced legal professional can help physicians decipher and understand a contract in full.
“A lawyer can help you spot issues you did not know were there,” states another Resolve blog article. “They can ensure your discussions [with the employer] are reflected in the agreement, protect you upon termination, and help relax restrictive covenants.”
Receiving this assistance from an experienced professional within a reasonable timeframe is a large part of what makes Resolve such a valuable resource for AMA members. Salary data access and the instant review option are delivered immediately, while contract review services with an attorney have turnaround times as short as two days. Many of the services that include attorney access will allow for ongoing contact with the attorney, ensuring that your needs are met and you have confidently signed a contract.
“Our team has reviewed and negotiated thousands of contracts from health care systems across the country,” said Kyle Claussen, Resolve’s CEO and lead attorney. “We know how to advocate for you without jeopardizing your future employment relationship.”
Learn more with the AMA about understanding physician employment contracts.
