Guide to Nurse Practitioner Employment Contracts
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The American Association of Colleges of Nursing states that there is a growing shortage of nurses across the board, which means they are in high demand in just about every level of healthcare. From assisted living facilities to private practices: nurse practitioners are at an advantage when it comes to contract negotiations. The pay for nurses is competitive depending on the specialty and facility offering the position. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the median starting salary for registered nurses as $113,930 per year, and Health eCareers’ Salary Guide lists the median compensation at $109,000. Pay is also dictated by the location of facility. If you are just getting into the field of nursing, there’s some pretty important things to remember before signing your employment contract.
[ Read: Health eCareers’ Salary Guide 2018-2019 ]
Content of Employment Contract
Most facilities are familiar with standard contracts for healthcare staff. These contracts have terms that are similar to non-healthcare employment contracts such as salary, overtime hours, and start date. However, with a medical contract, some terms that are there are not on standard contracts.
These terms include:
- Bonus pay
- Continuing education amounts
- Schedule flexibility
- Reimbursement
If these terms are not included in your contract, inquire about them and if they can be negotiated, have them added to your contract before signing it. A verbal contract isn’t a legal contract, so if you sign your contract before the terms are amended, you will be expected to work under the original contract.
Negotiating Contract Terms
Certain terms will be included in the contract before you have a chance to look at it. These items are normally accepted at face value; however, if you’re not comfortable with the terms you should negotiate them. Upwork recommends reading information about what terms can be orally agreed upon and which ones should be added into a contract. If you are unsure about these terms, consult with a lawyer that’s familiar with employment contracts.
These terms are often negotiated before employment:
- Vacation days: a majority of employers offer 2 to 3 week vacation in a work year. In most cases, this is enough; however, if you have obligations that may warrant more days off, speak to your employer about amending the terms.
- Work schedule: although a standard contract gives you a 9 to 5 work schedule, if you have children or you’re in school, these hours may not be feasible. Don’t be afraid to express these concerns to human resources. They would much rather a nurse be upfront with them instead of being chronically late or absent.
- Insurance benefits: if you’ve applied for a position within a hospital or long-term care facility, you will almost always be offered some form of health and dental insurance. However, in some cases, insurance benefits will not be offered, or the level of cover may not be enough to suit your needs. With the new changes in healthcare reform, you no longer need to accept insurance from your employer if you are fit and healthy. There are affordable individual insurance plans that are much cheaper than the one your future employer may be offering. Look into this before negotiating your insurance benefits.
