please help

[assyrian]

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i matched into a categorical general surgery residency in this years match and i had signed the contract with my hospital and had all my paperwork done. now my hospital has sent me a mail saying that i have to sign a new contract with them, bcos their VA sponsors about 10 of their residents and a slot has become available now. my question is whether this is normal in programs or is my program having second thoughts about having taken me in the match( i am a foreign graduate and so maybe they arent that happy). i would appreciate if any of the residents could help me.

 

[andy toth]

is it an identical contract? it may be something they forgot to put in the original package.

what exactly does the cover letter say? does it say "we are making everyone re-sign their contacts because someone did not return a contract"?

from what i could gleam; when one matches via nrmp, it's over, you got it. from that point on it may just be a miscommunication on one side, or via intermediary (national postal system).

everything is probably okay; call the program immediately and see what's up. and use dhl for the rest of the communications you have with your hospital; time is running out for visas, etc.

& i don't think programs are /that/ unhappy about accepting IMGs.

 

[assyrian]

thanks for the reply. i am sure that they arent making everyone sign the new contract. the program has about 40 residents and the salaries and benefits of 10 of these residents are paid by the VA system which is one of the hospitals of the university system. i dont think there is any trouble as the residency coordinator said that this wouldnt affect my categorical residency with the program in any way. but i just feel uncomfortable that i am being made to sign a different contract than what the other pgy1s are signing. i get a feeling that i am being profiled.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I am not sure why you would be made to sign another contract except that the government system (of which the VA is part of) is reknown for its paperwork. Perhaps you will spend most of your time at the VA (rather than the University hospital) and they require an additional contract.

It would be illegal for them to require you to sign a different contract than your colleagues. If you truly suspect this is the case, please ask your program for contact information for other incoming residents and confirm with them. Best of luck.

 

[Careofme]

Whats VA stand for? Veteran's Administration?

 

[Winged Scapula]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Careofme:
•Whats VA stand for? Veteran's Administration?•••••That's it. You'll also see the following:

VAMC - Veterans Administration Medical Center
DVAMC - Department of VAMC
DVA - Department of Veteran's Affairs

 

[andy toth]

perhaps the program has divided the benefits of the 40 into: 30 from university, 10 from VA in order to satisfy "something" or to balance payroll-work. find out who the other 9 people being paid via VA are and what is going on with them. i think the reason you may have had to sign two sets of contracts is that the program is based upon the university program (contract #1); however you are going to be paid by a "satellite institution" (the VA: contract #2). maybe some money was left over somewhere. but i don't understand how the incoming residents were allocated to the VA,; on what criteria?