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Helping physicians and other health care providers with their employment agreements in pretty much all we do. So we hear this question all the time: "I have been offered an employment contract, and I'm supposed to give them an answer right away. But I'm not sure yet that I want to accept it. What should I do?"
The pressure is on! Not only is the potential employer seemingly putting overt pressure on you to make a decision, but other factors are putting pressure on you as well: student loan repayment creeping up, mounting credit card debt from living off less-than-desireable residency or fellowship salary, your mom or dad constantly asking you "where are you going to work when you finish training?!", your spouse asking you, "when are you going to make up your mind about this job?!", your attendings asking you, "where are you going to begin your career?!", and so on and so forth. Like I said, you're really feeling the pressure from all angles. The last thing you need is a potential employer trying to rush you through the process.
Honestly, when a physician client calls me and asks me what to do in this situation, I am SO relieved. I am so relieved that they thought to call me, a lawyer, and ask for my help. That means I have the opportunity to talk them down from this sensation of needing to respond to their physician employment offer immediately. And, I can help them with the next steps. The next step is no where near as complicated as one might think: simply ask for an extension.
Many physician letters of intent or even physician employment contracts include some type of expiration date or other deadline. Most of the time these are in templated drafts of these documents, originally created by a lawyer or Human Resources personnel, in order to give some type of timeline in this process. However, they are almost NEVER hard and fast deadlines. In fact, I have never seen a scenario where a client of mine has asked for an extension on their response time, and it has been turned down. Instead, I always recommend to my physician clients, that they reach back out to their physician employment contact person and say something along the lines of, "Thank you very much for this offer/LOI. I am really excited about this opportunity. As you know, this is an enormously important decision, and I want to make sure I have given due consideration to my options. Would it be ok if I have an additional 2 [or more] weeks before this offer expires?" A few weeks in the scheme of filling a physician job opening is nothing. Employers typically spend months and months recruiting employees, so trust me when I say it is no big deal to ask for two more weeks, or even longer! You will likely find that the potential employer is more than happy to give you this additional time to make your decision. So do not be afraid to ask! The worst thing would be for you to rush into taking your first employment position out of training without having given the documents their proper attention and consulting with a physician contract lawyer.
If you have questions about your physician employment agreement or Letter of Intent, or want to know more about our contract review services, do not hesitate to reach out to the attorney-agents of Lauth O'Neill. We are here and ready to help any time. Call us at 317-989-4833, or email me, Leigh Ann O'Neill, at loneill@lauthoneill.com.
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