Pre-contracts during residency

[Buckeye4life]

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I recently matched into orthopaedic surgery and I would like some advice on precontracts with hospitals for after residency. Could anyone tell me how to get this ball rolling, such as who should I contact at the hospitals and what should I say and what questions should I be asking, what are some of the offers that others have gotten or heard of, is this a good idea to pursue, what are the pros and cons of signing with a hospital before the end of residency, can you still do a fellowship, etc.? From what I've gathered it really depends on what you can negotiate and tons of other factors, but if anyone could give me any insight or tips, they would be greatly appreciated. The reason I'm looking into this is because i'm married with a child (would like to have another soon), have significant debt outside of school loans, and I don't know if the residency salary will be enough to even cover basic cost of living. Thank you very much.

 

[skiz knot]

The reason I'm looking into this is because i'm married with a child (would like to have another soon), have significant debt outside of school loans, and I don't know if the residency salary will be enough to even cover basic cost of living. Thank you very much.

Then don't have another kid at this point in your life. If you don't think 45-60K per year is insufficient to cover the "basic cost of living" when the average family of four survives on less, than you are either living beyond your means, or not ready to make the appropriate sacrifices to raise a family on a limited budget. Why would you obligate yourself into a contract when you haven't the faintest clue what you would like to do for the rest of your career. Save the "I know I want to go back to my hometown and practice general orthopaedics" line, because half the people who say that probably end up as a subspecialist somewhere else. If you do happen to live in a city where expenses are prohibitive (NY, LA, Boston, Etc...) than don't have another kid you can't afford.

Or do whatever you want.