Contract negotiation help!

[DaisyDukeOfPembroke]

New grad outpatient $92k salaried position in TX

1) 40 hrs/week, clinic hours are M-F 8am-5pm, and also "Operation hours are subject to change depending on the needs of the medical practice" - is this a typical stipulation in contracts, or is this something that could be abused?

2) Doc said no calls during the interview but it's not in the contract - have it in writing?

3) Medical/dental/vision/retirement NOT mentioned

4) CME - per approval, one meeting per year (is this unusual? isn't it usually $$ amount and specific days are given?) 

5) PTO - 2 weeks

6) Do contracts usually outline average/maximum patient loads?

 

If there are anything else that I should bring up, please let me know!

 

 

[AbeTheBabe]

1) Make sure those clinic hours include time for documentation, if you're seeing patients from 8-5 you can document in between if you're seeing 2 an hour, not 3-4.

2) I think if it doesn't mention taking call that should be fine.

3) This is a deal breaker. It is a benefit that can be worth 10-20K a year and is expected for a professional. You need to figure out if those benefits are offered. If they aren't, that salary is way too low and you should pass on this offer and let them know why.

4) Better to a specific amount and number of days. What if they only approve local CME and you want to go somewhere else? What if they only approve CME for your specialty but you want to learn about something else. What if they think 1K is too expensive for a conference when average CME money is 2K. Also, do you get some days off for CME? You should get at least 3, but 5 seems to be pretty standard.

5) 2 weeks of PTO is too little, does this include sick time? I'd aim for 3 if it does.

6) Not that I know of, but you should be able to ask about that in the interview to your SP or maybe even another PA who works there.

Also, make sure the place is willing to train. That is super important for a new grad. You can't start seeing patients right away. Have they trained a new grad before?

[DaisyDukeOfPembroke]

7 hours ago, AbeTheBabe said:

1) Make sure those clinic hours include time for documentation, if you're seeing patients from 8-5 you can document in between if you're seeing 2 an hour, not 3-4.

2) I think if it doesn't mention taking call that should be fine.

3) This is a deal breaker. It is a benefit that can be worth 10-20K a year and is expected for a professional. You need to figure out if those benefits are offered. If they aren't, that salary is way too low and you should pass on this offer and let them know why.

4) Better to a specific amount and number of days. What if they only approve local CME and you want to go somewhere else? What if they only approve CME for your specialty but you want to learn about something else. What if they think 1K is too expensive for a conference when average CME money is 2K. Also, do you get some days off for CME? You should get at least 3, but 5 seems to be pretty standard.

5) 2 weeks of PTO is too little, does this include sick time? I'd aim for 3 if it does.

6) Not that I know of, but you should be able to ask about that in the interview to your SP or maybe even another PA who works there.

Also, make sure the place is willing to train. That is super important for a new grad. You can't start seeing patients right away. Have they trained a new grad before?

Doc has trained new grads before, and has several PAs working there already.

Patient load is about 20-24 per day once I am established, and the PA that works there said she usually finishes charting by 5pm, sometimes later.

And since I am salaried and there are no mention of bonuses or productivity incentive, would it be reasonable to state a max number of patients per day to avoid being taken advantage of (be given unreasonable amount of patient load)? Should I bring up productivity incentive during negotiation?