In my years as a health care lawyer, I have reviewed many physician employment contracts for clients. I have also worked for hospitals and other employers in drafting the offers they make to physicians. This experience has given me the benefit of knowing both sides' angles in this process.
After a long and laborious job search process, the acceptance of a physician's first employment offer is often a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, not only do many physicians take the first set of terms offered to them, but many physicians do not seek legal advice at all. After seeing how incredibly different the second version of a contract can be from the first, I cannot urge physicians enough to hire someone to do this important work on their behalf.
The makings of a good and fair physician employment contract include balanced terms, fair market value compensation, and benefits such as health, life and disability insurance, and reimbursement for various typical business expenses. Of course this list is not inclusive, but only mentions some of the points a physician lawyer will be looking for when reviewing an employment agreement.
The "take-home" point for physicians, especially those straight out of residency or fellowship, is that having a legal review of your employment offer will pay for itself many times over. New physicians often don't take advantage of the bargaining power they have, and a formal legal review can provide exponential benefits.