If you are reading this, you may still be in PA school or you could be a fresh new graduate. Either way, congratulations! Nailing your job interview and getting that first job offer is such a HUGE accomplishment. You are probably so ready to: finally start working, helping patients, and earning an income! You may be contemplating accepting anything sent your way. Before you do that, take a moment to consider negotiable items in a typical PA contract. Not only do you deserve a good salary but you also deserve to have a decent work-life balance and peace of mind when it comes to your first PA contract.
RELATED: The Pros and Cons of Working in Dermatology
Call Hours
Many medical specialties require call hours. Call hours include hours outside of your 9-5 or normal schedule. This could mean simply answering the phone if a patient calls after hours. It could also mean being nearby and ready to come to the hospital within a certain time frame if need be. There are a few things to consider when negotiating this. First, do you get a bonus with the more call you take? If so, how is it calculated? If your contract is indicating that call hours are required then I recommend speaking to another provider that is already working with the same medical practice. You can ask what their normal call schedule looks like, and if they might be willing to share the past few month’s hours so you have a good idea of what you are signing onto.
Schedule
Are you negotiating a contract in a medical specialty where providers have the option to work only 4 days a week? I work in dermatology and half of our providers work 5 days and the other half work 4 days. I chose to work 5 days a week because it meant I could earn more money to save for my wedding. Maybe you have kids at home and a 4-day week schedule sounds amazing to you. Ask if it is an option without affecting your full-time status.
If you are working in a private medical office do you have the option of coming in earlier and leaving earlier or is a set time frame for all providers? If you will be working in a hospital do you get to pick your shifts or at least put in preferences? These are all questions to ask or consider when reading through your contract. Always ask for clarification if you are unsure of policies, and don’t ever assume anything. Also, don’t ever just accept word-of-mouth promises. Anything discussed between you and the person hiring you needs to be written clearly in your contract. This is after all a LEGAL document. It needs to be adhered to by BOTH sides.
Paid time off (PTO)
PTO and holidays generally increase with longevity at a company. It is however not something to discount when you are negotiating a contract. Healthcare can get busy and people can experience burnout. You should have PTO to use when need be. It is also something your employer may be more willing to adjust versus increasing your salary. Now if you work in a field like dermatology, where you are paid strictly based on collections only, then there really is no such thing as PTO. If you don’t work you don’t get paid. It is still a good idea to negotiate to have the ability to take off more time if desired.
Continuing medical education (CME)
CME is not always offered with PA jobs but in my personal opinion, I think it should be. Your employer should want you to continue learning and growing, right? This category encompasses not only money reimbursed for CME but also your time off. With my previous job, I was given 3 additional days of PTO specifically for CME in ADDITION to my other normal PTO. CME can also encompass more than you think. For example, at my last job, my employer paid for a dermatology textbook of my choice and several professional memberships. With one of the professional memberships, the Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants, I was then able to complete an online dermatology fellowship. My employer also paid for an UpToDate account.
Non-competes
This is something you may not have much say in, but typically trying to get the radius down to as small as possible will protect you in case anything were to happen and you had to leave your job. There are different rules regarding non-competes based on your state of employment. Be sure to do your homework to see what is and what isn’t allowed before signing anything. Remember non-competes only benefit the employer. If you can negotiate with them to delete it from your contract then that will always be ideal.
An increase in salary isn’t the only thing that can be negotiated. I hope these ideas are beneficial when it comes time to negotiate. A bonus tip for new grads is to consider asking for an automatic increase in salary to be written into your contract following a short period of training as a new graduate. For example for my first year paid a normal salary. After 12 months went by I automatically started receiving a salary PLUS a percentage based on the income I brought into the practice. It was so nice not to have to renegotiate again. It had already been done and it was something to look forward to without any added stress. Do you have any additional ideas of what to negotiate in a PA contract? Comment below and let us know!
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