Question from independent applicant about signing before Match

[copernicus]

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Hello all! I hope the interview season has been treating everyone well and any future interview and holiday travels will be safe. Thanks to all the other students and the residents who post valuable info here; it has made this application season easier and offered much needed guidance.

I have recently been given the option by the PD at my #1 to sign before the match and as an independent applicant I am able to accept this offer without violating NRMP rules (as long as I withdraw from the match soon after signing). The PD has been very kind and has not pressured me in any way to sign early, but if I know they are my #1 before the end of January, I can sign and not be white knuckling my way into March. I am honored to be given this opportunity and plan on accepting this offer. I am wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what paperwork to except to sign in order to leave nothing up to chance. I am assuming the 1 page resident contract that we've all seen samples of on the interview trail that gets mailed to us after a successful match is all I need to sign but I wanted to post here just to make sure I don't make a mistake and not require more paperwork before withdrawing from the match. I have a lot of respect for the PD and believe him to be trustworthy so I know I don't have to worry about him giving away my spot, but there's enough horror stories out there to make us all paranoid. Thanks for your input!

 

[hermione]

Congrats! Are you a DO, or an FMG/IMG? Just out of curiosity. Don't suppose you'll be telling us where the place is, huh? At any rate, good job, you are in an enviable position!

 

[lvspro]

Hello all! I hope the interview season has been treating everyone well and any future interview and holiday travels will be safe. Thanks to all the other students and the residents who post valuable info here; it has made this application season easier and offered much needed guidance.

I have recently been given the option by the PD at my #1 to sign before the match and as an independent applicant I am able to accept this offer without violating NRMP rules (as long as I withdraw from the match soon after signing). The PD has been very kind and has not pressured me in any way to sign early, but if I know they are my #1 before the end of January, I can sign and not be white knuckling my way into March. I am honored to be given this opportunity and plan on accepting this offer. I am wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what paperwork to except to sign in order to leave nothing up to chance. I am assuming the 1 page resident contract that we've all seen samples of on the interview trail that gets mailed to us after a successful match is all I need to sign but I wanted to post here just to make sure I don't make a mistake and not require more paperwork before withdrawing from the match. I have a lot of respect for the PD and believe him to be trustworthy so I know I don't have to worry about him giving away my spot, but there's enough horror stories out there to make us all paranoid. Thanks for your input!

Get a lawyer... better yet, one that specializes tort/contractual law. This is not the place to say "I should of..." later on. If anyone tells you otherwise, then they have no idea how bad you can get screwed by putting your name on a dotted line... Ever hear the phrase "sign your life away at the dotted line"? There's a reason for that saying, and you can bet it's not good.
Btw, nice job on nailing a prematch at your #1. Enviable indeed.

 

[UTSouthwestern]

The one page commitment letter you will sign and return is just the first part of the overall resident contract. You will receive a reasonably thick contract with all of the insurance, salary, and benefits packages included. The one page contract should be enough to be legally binding.

You could ask the program to immediately send you a contract package to sign, but usually they make some changes toward the end of the academic year which might prevent them from doing so. Then again, not all programs make those changes so maybe they will. In any event, sign and return the commitment letter and just ask to see if they can send you the full contract.

 

[ThinkFast007]

Get a lawyer... better yet, one that specializes tort/contractual law. This is not the place to say "I should of..." later on. If anyone tells you otherwise, then they have no idea how bad you can get screwed by putting your name on a dotted line... Ever hear the phrase "sign your life away at the dotted line"? There's a reason for that saying, and you can bet it's not good.
Btw, nice job on nailing a prematch at your #1. Enviable indeed.

while it's true that a lawyer SHOULD be ideally called,etc. You dont want to come off as someone that wants to legally bind the program. THe PD may take it to be insulting etc and well you're going to spend the next 3-4 years w/ the guy.

Actually, a friend of mine was in a similar situation. It's true, the PD could screw you....but then again most wont. I think you kind of have to gauge how trustworthy he is and then trust him (that's what my friend did). Additionally, if something did happen in the future...well you would always have a case against him and could fight it...although it would be a bloody fight.

From what I heard one of things that's inside the 'contract' is the salary. There's no way for a program to figure out what the resident salary is two years or so in advance.

It's your call. I think for the most part PDs can be trusted...