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Legal Contracts for Nurse Practitioners

The Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants (SDPA) has a podcast called, dermcast. They were kind enough to upload the presentations from their 2022 conference, including one called, Contract Workshop: Understanding the Documents You Sign. The presentation was given by attorneys Nia Doaks, JD, MBA, and Tara M. Bright, JD. Esq. In this article I’ve provided a checklist of the highlighted points to use during your next negotiation.

4 minute read

Five Things to Take to Your Next Negotiation

The Contract Workshop podcast is about 90 minutes. In the dermcast episode, Nia Doaks, JD, MBA, and Tara M. Bright, JD, Esq. shared their background, gave the attendees a chance to review contracts for red flags, and reviewed the key points below. I don’t go into what each item means in detail, but the outline will compliment your learning once you listen which I highly recommend. You can use the outline as a guide and checklist during your next interview, negotiation, or contract renewal.

As a new nurse practitioner (NP) who has been interviewing and speaking with recruiters, I can share that it’s important to be ready to begin discussing compensation on the first call. While the whole list is important, Doaks, JD, MBA, and Bright, JD, Esq. recommend having the following five things written down when you enter a negotiation:

-Interest

-Opening Position

-BATNA

-Walkway

-Target

Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide

The perfect complement to this podcast is Carol Buppert’s book, the Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide 6th or 7th edition. Carolyn Buppert has over 16 years of experience as a nurse practitioner and over 30 as an attorney. It appears she may have retired at the end of 2022. Fortunately, her expertise lives on through several of her publications. I can’t say enough great things about the utility of this book. I recently shared it on LinkedIn and at the time of this writing, that post has received 3,575 impressions. This speaks to my previous point, this is an invaluable resource for aspiring NPs, NP students, practicing NPs, and our physician colleagues. The gap in knowledge will persist unless we share this resource with as many providers, faculty, clinical instructors, and shareholders as possible. You can easily listen to the audiobook version in a weekend. I purchased the e-book on Amazon for $110. I use the Amazon Alexa app to listen to the audio (a hack I use to get an e-book and audiobook for the price of one).

If you use the checklist and find it helpful, have modifications to make, or additional resources to add regarding contracts and negotiation, please email me to share. If you're interested in the PDF, just let me know and I will send it to you.

*Disclaimer: I am not a legal professional and this is not legal advice. You are encouraged to do your own research and seek legal counsel to make decisions regarding any decision with legal implications.

Kimberly Madison, DNP, AGPCNP-BC

Kimberly Madison is a new dermatology nurse practitioner with a passion for writing, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and mentorship. I created this blog to share my journey as I become a dermatology nurse practitioner and entrepreneur. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to helping nurse practitioners and aspiring students to better understand the business of dermatology and their role in improving access to care, providing culturally competent care, and advancing education.

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