Negotiation prep tool
The questions to ask before you sign
Most physicians sign their first contract without knowing what to ask. Enter your offer terms and get the employer questions, red flags, negotiation points, and undefined terms. Turned into an exportable brief.
Your offer terms
Paste your contract (optional)
Paste the agreement text and we'll flag which key clauses it mentions vs never addresses. Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
Questions to ask the employer
- •Is the base salary guaranteed, and for how many years before it converts to full production?
- •Is call compensated separately from base/production, or is it bundled?
- •Can I see the full employment agreement, including all incorporated policies and schedules, before deciding?
Missing / undefined terms
- •Production formula: $/wRVU rate and the wRVU threshold above which it pays.
- •Guaranteed base salary and its guarantee period.
- •Retirement match (401k/403b %) and vesting schedule.
- •Relocation reimbursement and whether it has its own clawback.
- •Whether outside work / moonlighting / expert-witness income is permitted.
- •Call frequency, the call pool size, and whether it is in-house or from home.
- •Whether a partnership/ownership track exists, and its timeline and buy-in.
- •Whether ASC / ancillary / facility equity is available to physicians.
- •Non-compete radius, duration, scope, and buy-out terms.
- •Who pays malpractice tail coverage when you leave (a large hidden exit cost).
- •Vacation weeks, and whether CME and sick time are separate.
- •CME allowance (dollars and days) and licensing/board/DEA reimbursement.
- •Health, own-occupation disability, group life insurance, and portability limits.
- •Whether outside consulting, speaking fees, or expert-witness work is permitted and who keeps the revenue.
- •Intellectual property (IP) assignment and ownership of inventions/patents.
The full negotiation brief. Red flags, leverage, and the people conversations.
Red flags in this offer, specific negotiation points, mentor questions, and the spouse/partner discussion, plus a one-tap exportable checklist.
This generates the conversation, not a verdict. Employment-contract review is legal work. Take the final agreement to a contract attorney, and verify compensation with a financial advisor.
Common questions
Is this legal advice?
No. It generates the questions and red flags a physician should raise, from the terms you enter. It is not a substitute for a contract attorney, who should review the final agreement. It's the prep that makes that review (and your negotiation) far more effective.
What does it flag?
Undefined production formulas, uncompensated call, non-compete exposure, physician-paid malpractice tail, thin vacation/CME, and vague partnership/equity promises. The terms that most often surprise new attendings.
Do you store my offer?
No. Everything is computed in your browser from what you type; nothing is sent to a server. You can export the resulting checklist as a Markdown file.
How does it connect to the other tools?
Estimate realistic wRVU volume in the RVU calculator, put two offers side by side in the Offer Comparator, and pressure-test the whole life in your report.