The Review Podcast

Physicians might expect their employment contracts to last around a couple years before they can choose to renew, with options to terminate the agreement beforehand if necessary. In reality, contract length, renewal terms, and termination language are not always so straightforward. The term length of a contract and other details surrounding it are important to review and even negotiate prior to si...

While the majority of physicians are now employed by hospitals or large health systems, plenty of private practice options still exist. For physicians who find the right fit, working for a private practice can be extremely rewarding, offering greater autonomy and even higher compensation over time. However, interviewing and signing on with a private practice comes with its own set of nuances to co...

Non-competes have become more of a hot topic than ever before, following the FTC’s recent attempt to ban such clauses nationwide. This is especially true for physicians and others in the healthcare sector, where employers frequently leverage non-compete clauses against employees. While a nationwide ban never went into effect, some states have restricted or banned non-competes on their own. When fa...

Dr. Thom Mayer, Medical Director of the NFL Players Association and Executive Vice President of Leadership at LogixHealth, visits the podcast to discuss a variety of physician career-related topics. Dr. Mayer and Resolve CEO Kyle Claussen thoroughly explain physician burnout, including the causes and some of Dr. Mayer's proposed solutions. They also cover physician leadership in the workplace and...

While negotiating an employment contract often results in changes to its terms, sometimes the edits are more significant than others. A physician could see a $300,000 increase in yearly compensation, the complete removal of a non-compete clause, or important scheduling and work location changes in their favor. Physician contract attorneys Zach Beare and Kyle Claussen provide some examples of the b...

Dr. Bryan Carmody, also known as "The Sheriff of Sodium" on social media channels, joins attorney, Kyle Claussen, to discuss the current and future employment landscape for physicians. Primarily, Dr. Carmody gives his thoughts on the physician shortage, or lack thereof, explaining how the real problem may be improper distribution of physicians across specialties and locations. This in turn reduces...

When joining a private practice, a physician may encounter a recruitment agreement, which is a document separate from the employment contract. New or smaller practices may not have funds immediately available to hire a physician, particularly a highly-paid specialist. Since a nearby hospital system will value services and procedures that the newly-hired physician performs, they effectively loan mo...

For most physicians, signing an employment contract is the first major step toward reaching their financial goals. The dramatic increase from a trainee's compensation to that of an attending opens up new doors, allowing physicians to truly start paying off debt and investing. Further optimizing an employment contract for higher compensation and career longevity from the start will provide the stab...

It is becoming more common for physicians to feed their employment contracts through an AI system prior to seeking professional help or signing. Even Resolve offers an "Instant Review," which utilizes an attorney-trained AI model to spot problematic clauses and gauge the risks of signing a contract as is. However, having only AI review a contract comes with its own risks. AI systems will sometimes...

Physicians are particularly prone to burnout for a variety of reasons. Long hours, unpredictable call schedules, administrative burdens, and general lack of autonomy are among the contributing factors. But what if improving physician well-being and preventing burnout could all be accomplished by correcting one important document?—an employment contract. Mary Wolf, an executive coach and president...

A non-compete clause is a type of restrictive covenant which limits where an employee can go to work after they leave their job. Typically, a non-compete will specify employer locations, geographic areas around those locations, and a timeframe during which the employee is not allowed to work for a competitor in those areas. Unfortunately, non-compete clauses are common in healthcare, and they can...

The FIRE movement is a lifestyle strategy focused on becoming financially independent as soon as possible in order to retire early. Physicians, depending on their spending and saving habits, can be well positioned to quickly reach FIRE. Dr. Leif Dahleen, a (retired) anesthesiologist, is the founder of Physician on FIRE, a website providing financial education in the form of blog articles and cours...

Today, the majority of physicians are employed by corporate entities like hospitals or large health systems. However, there are still plenty of doctors joining private practices, perhaps with partnership tracks outlined in their employment contracts. Contracts for private practice can be structured differently than those for purely employed settings, and details surrounding partnership need to be...

For a J-1 waiver application to be approved, a physician's employer and employment contract must meet certain requirements. For instance, the contract must offer full-time employment for at least three years and exclude any sort of non-compete clause. The employer must also be located in an area which is federally designated as "medically underserved." Immigration attorney, Angela Lopez, revisits...

The employment landscape is always changing and presenting new challenges for physicians. Dr. Yalda Jabbarpour, a family medicine physician and Director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies , joins Resolve CEO and attorney, Kyle Claussen, to discuss current family medicine physician employment trends. Dr. Jabbarpour references recent research concerning these trends and explains how phys...

For physicians on a J-1 visa, finding a first attending job and applying for a J-1 waiver is a lengthy process with many steps. It's crucial to start a job search as early as possible, so there will be enough time to find the right position, sign a contract, apply for a waiver, and have the application approved. Immigration attorney, Angela Lopez, returns to the podcast and discusses the timeline...

In the event that one party is in breach of contract, liquidated damages define an amount of compensation that will be owed to the opposing party. Physician employers typically define liquidated damages for contract breaches where an exact damage amount could, in theory, be difficult to calculate—for example, if a physician leaves a job without giving the proper notice or violates a non-compete ag...

A J-1 visa allows foreign medical graduates to participate in graduate medical training programs within the United States. However, once that training is complete, physicians on a J-1 visa must return to their home country for a minimum of two years before they can return to the U.S. and practice medicine as an attending. A J-1 visa waiver allows these physicians to circumvent the two-year foreign...

A force majeure, or "act of god," clause relieves both parties from their contractual obligations when unforeseen or uncontrollable events occur. These clauses typically come into play when a disaster, such as a hurricane or fire, takes place, rendering either party unable to fulfill their obligations. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, force majeure clauses have become more common in physician empl...

Guaranteeing the proper equipment and support staff in an employment contract can be important for certain physicians. Surgical specialists may need access to specific tools or robotics, and other physicians might want to ensure a PA or scribe will be working alongside them. Attorneys Kyle Claussen and Brady Glissendorf discuss when, why, and how equipment and support staff needs should be stipula...

Outside of expiration, an employment contract can generally be terminated in one of two ways - "for cause" or "without cause." While termination without cause does not require a specific reason, termination for cause is usually the result of some misconduct by either a physician or an employer. Attorneys Kyle Claussen and Skyler Mickelson detail some examples of termination for cause and explain h...

Properly defined duties, responsibilities, and scheduling are often overlooked in physician employment contracts. These aspects of a job can appear straightforward, and are typically discussed during the interview process, but those conversations do not always translate well to an offer letter or contract. Attorneys Kyle Claussen and Brady Glissendorf explain how vague contract language about sche...

Negotiating an employment contract can be daunting, especially for new attending physicians. Medical school and training will seldom prepare physicians for the business side of medicine, which includes reviewing and negotiating contracts. While it is normal to feel apprehensive about negotiations, many fears surrounding the process are overexaggerated and it is extremely rare for things to go wron...

It is common to find some form of outside activities restrictions in physician employment contracts. These terms can restrict a physician's ability to work a side gig or grow a business outside of their day job, especially if it also relates to medicine. Attorneys Zach Beare and Kyle Claussen explain how outside activities restrictions are typically structured and how physicians might negotiate th...

The majority of physician employment contracts will include some sort of call schedule. The amount of call hours, how the schedule is shared, and compensation for your time will vary based on specialty and location. Regardless, call has the potential to make or break a physician's work/life balance. Attorneys Bryce Krieger and Kyle Claussen explain how employment contracts typically outline call a...