Most physicians leave their jobs without a separation agreement, but it's a protection measure that more should make use of, according to a May 20 Medscape report.
A separation agreement, which lays out the rights and obligations of the employer and employee after an employee leaves a job, can safeguard a physician's reputation and success in future job offers, the report said. Physicians usually have the most leverage in those agreements going into a job opportunity, rather than on the way out.
A physician's biggest bargaining chip is likely the fact that employers want to avoid lawsuits, the report said. By offering to release the employer from future claims, an incoming physician can negotiate nondisparagement provisions and other hefty protections for their separation agreement, better severance packages or less restrictive noncompete agreements.
"If the employee agrees to that, they will be given more consideration faster," Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey partner James Wall told Medscape.
It's hard to anticipate if a relationship will sour, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.