Breaking a contract to go to residency..advice on this?

[VictoriaO]

As an EM Residency hopeful, what do you advice about taking a job offer only to have to break contract if you are accepted? Or violating a 1-year contract early?

 

Basically the situation is my program graduates August 15th. Thus limiting me to applying EM residiencies with fall or spring start dates; or waiting until next June to apply at Iowa and Einstein.

 

As much as I hope to be accepted, I would not like to put all my eggs in one basket, and be scrambling to find a job after graduation. The job situation in the NW is not great, though I have been told I could easily hop on at an Urgent Care. Barring landing a dream job in a rural ED with a physician who wants to train me to run things solo, I will be headed to residency at some point in the next year or two.

 

So which has more negative repercussions?

Breaking a contract for a decent job you haven't even started (which if I get lucky I will find before graduation)?

 

Or being at a job for less than a year, then giving a month's notice for residency?

 

Are there types of contracts that you can give notice to leave, or are nearly all of them 1-year contract?

 

Thanks guys,

Victoria

[coloradopa]

As an EM Residency hopeful, what do you advice about taking a job offer only to have to break contract if you are accepted? Or violating a 1-year contract early?

 

Basically the situation is my program graduates August 15th. Thus limiting me to applying EM residiencies with fall or spring start dates; or waiting until next June to apply at Iowa and Einstein.

 

As much as I hope to be accepted, I would not like to put all my eggs in one basket, and be scrambling to find a job after graduation. The job situation in the NW is not great, though I have been told I could easily hop on at an Urgent Care. Barring landing a dream job in a rural ED with a physician who wants to train me to run things solo, I will be headed to residency at some point in the next year or two.

 

So which has more negative repercussions?

Breaking a contract for a decent job you haven't even started (which if I get lucky I will find before graduation)?

 

Or being at a job for less than a year, then giving a month's notice for residency?

 

Are there types of contracts that you can give notice to leave, or are nearly all of them 1-year contract?

 

Thanks guys,

Victoria

In my experience a contract with a one year notification would be unusual. Most contracts are renewable on a one year basis but there is nothing that says you have to stick around for a year. A reasonable contract will have a 3-4 month mutual notification clause (they have to notify you 3-4 months ahead of time if they are not going to renew and you have to do the same).

 

David Carpenter

[EMEDPA]

Agree with david. As long as you give the notice required in your contract and don't leave them in the lurch it shouldn't reflect negatively on you...and the truth of the matter is that you will be using your residency contacts for future job recommendations, not an urgent care where you worked for less than a yr....

Also...there is a new rural em residency program in upstate ny in addition to iowa...check out

Bassett Medical Center - Rural Emergency Medicine Postgraduate Residency @

www.appap.org

[VictoriaO]

Thanks for the info, guys.

 

I guess I was mostly concerned about accepting a job offer, then backing out if I'm accepted to residency. Once you sign-on to start on a certain date, is it binding?

 

EMED, I saw this program, and I'm definitely applying, it sounds awesome!