Seven Physician Agreement Mistakes

1. A poor physician agreement can destroy career and family relationships. A mistake about your employment agreement might be the largest potential financial mistake you will ever make.

2. Your physician agreement is much like learning that you need surgery.  You want expert advice, not simply someone wielding a knife.

3. Your physician agreement is about what is fair.  You will benefit from the perspective of advice based on hundreds of physician agreement situations, avoiding a mistake in do-it-yourself or knife-wielding wannabe approaches.

4. Common physician agreement mistakes are bad advice; not enough offers; bargaining piecemeal; stringing along employers; and saying "yes" or "no" too quickly without letting the process run.

5. Besides first-year pay, don't make the mistake of overlooking what you must do for the pay, job security, and the ultimate value of earning a secure and stable partnership.  There is more to a lasting physician agreement than what is on paper.

6. Don't make the mistake of not taking your physician employment agreement seriously, including a contract drafted wholly by the employer. A good physician agreement (contract and other understandings) should have your input too.

7. If your physician agreement is not negotiable, you've just received a valuable clue that you aren't badly needed and that you should keep searching.  An agreement with such an employer would of course be a mistake.