In a nod to the wisdom that comes from experience, CVB invited cardiologists at different career stages to share their advice for trainees, mentees or colleagues considering signing an employment contract with a noncompete clause. Noncompetes are unavoidable, most of the cardiologists said, though few voiced it with anger or animosity. Rather, they encouraged forethought, creativity and caution. We’ve curated their ideas here.
1. Take the noncompete covenant seriously. Too often young physicians are so eager and optimistic about a new job that they just ignore or dismiss potentially negative inputs.
2. Hire an attorney with experience in contract law and, ideally, healthcare as well. Sometimes trainees hesitate to bring legal counsel into negotiations because money’s tight or they fear the prospective employer will be offended. “It’s a necessary expense,” one cardiologist told us. And the hospital or health system should be impressed by the physician's due diligence.
3. Do your homework. While your attorney is scrutinizing the fine print, do your own research. Is the noncompete you’re considering comparable to those of similar hospitals or health systems, particularly those in the same area? "Talk with every person who has left the practice," one cardiologist said. "Each story can provide valuable insight." Also, don’t assume enforceability is the same as in other states. Make a point of asking your attorney about relevant laws and precedents in the state where you’ll be working.
4. Think about where you'll want to work next. Assume you’ll want to move on eventually. About half of physicians leave their first job within a year or two, and few stay in the same job for more than 10 years.
5. Be a creative negotiator. Look at the contract from your prospective employer’s point of view. What are the practice, hospital or health system’s motivations? Is there a compromise that would protect their business share without limiting your career plans? You might be able to turn a lose-lose situation into partial wins for everyone.
6. Leverage your strengths as bargaining chips. Are you a specialist or super-specialist whose skills are difficult to attract to the hospital’s community? Do you have a documented track record for delivering quality? If the job you’re considering is in a rural area, where recruiting specialists can be challenging, you may have the upper hand.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask for concessions. While young physicians rarely have the clout to win significant changes to their noncompetes, their bargaining power might expand during their employment, as they establish a reputation. One cardiologist told CVB what happened when, after several years at his first job, he was ready to move on. Banking on the relationships he’d forged and his reputation for being reasonable with administrators, he took a chance and picked up the phone. The hospital agreed to amend his noncompete and together they arrived at an agreement that worked for all parties.
Kathy joined TriMed in 2015 as the editor of Cardiovascular Business magazine. She has nearly two decades of experience in publishing and public relations, concentrating in cardiovascular care. Before TriMed, Kathy was a senior director at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). She holds a BA in journalism. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.