Satellite Academic Jobs

[RainerMaria]

There has been a rise in the number of major NCI cancer centers setting up shop many miles away. When it comes to negotiating academic jobs, what are you negotiating for besides pay. Is it number of sessions? Number of slots? RVUs I thought was more of a private practice contract. Is there a generally perceived fair split of clinical and administrative time?

Also it seems tricky how restrictive covenants work with satellites being spread out all over a wide swath of a state. Check out this timely NY Times article:

Did Your Doctor Disappear Without a Word? A Noncompete Clause Could Be the Reason (Published 2019)

Contracts with the clauses aim to keep doctors from taking patients with them when they leave. But some patients say it hurts them.

www.nytimes.com

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[Phase1Phase2]

Healthcare is a business, and satellites are beneficial for many reasons. Institutions with prestigious brands can use that brand to attract patients and generate revenue. Additionally, satellites offer the potential to feed the main institution with patients for clinical trials. Private practice is not the correct term. Rather, you are an employee of a hospital system with a salary based on clinical RVU goals and potential upside if those clinical RVUs are exceeded. Usually salaries at the satellites are higher than the main institution, but there is the expectation of higher clinical RVU generation to justify that salary. Also, an attending at a university may derive ancillary benefits such as tuition for children, whereas a satellite-based attending may lack that benefit. Satellites may offer the ability to specialize in one or two tumor histologies (hybrid), or they may be eat-what-you-kill where you have to see everything.

Definitely do not forget education benefits, loan forgiveness, CME funds.

 

[RainerMaria]

Right, and the other attraction of satellite is reduced commuting time (e.g., 10 min from home in the burbs, or an hour plus fighting traffic into the city) which is nothing to scoff at.

I guess when negotiating terms of these satellite jobs it would be important to see how you are labeled. Network physician? Staff doctor? Lecturer? Not clear how one starts on the academic track / obtains Asst. Prof title without spending time at the Mothership. To me, being labeled just staff or similarly vague term would seem like a hitting a wall for someone interested in academic promotion.