Negotiating a Contract

[csojet]

Hello to all. I am in the midst of starting to negotiate a contract with an anesthesia group. I am looking for 50,000 in funds. I'm just wondering if any of you out there have gotten this much before graduating and what were the terms. I will be attending a private university which is quite costly but I am an alumni from this school and really feel its the best place for me to learn. I will be taking out loans for the tuition. The 50,000 is for living expenses. How much should I ask for as a starting salary? (I am in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) How many years should I work for them in return for this money. Also, I hear that if I find another anesthesia group with a better offer they can buy out the contract but read on a previous thread that I should stipulate no interest on repayment. Any other tidbits of information would be most helpful.

crnacsum

[Nathalie]

out of curiosity, what school will you be attending for that program?

[jwk]

There are several threads on here about sign-on bonuses and tuition reimbursement arrangements. There are pluses and minuses to both. If you haven't read those, you should check them out.

I think a big worry is that you could be contractually obligated to a group or hospital you end up hating.

A couple of other things to consider - if you sign with a group, and then renege for another, you will probably forever burn a bridge with the original group. That may not be a problem in a big metropolitan area, but in smaller practice settings it could be a problem down the road. Also, there are groups out there who don't require a contractual obligation for a signing bonus, but I'll bet all of them that give you money at the start of your training will require a contract.