Letters of Intent for Dermatologists and Plastic Surgeons

Dermatologists & Plastic Surgeons are highly familiar with medical/surgical concepts and while many are incredibly talented and skilled in their craft, many to most are not qualified or really desirous of dissecting a complex legal document without the help of an attorney. So, put yourself in a candidate’s shoes for a moment. Imagine you have just interviewed with the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic. You have family in Rochester and your spouse has family in Cleveland. Both positions offer the same compensation package and benefits, not to mention they both carry the same level of prestige as you perceive it. You also happen to like your prospective co-workers at either clinic equally. They have both made you an offer with seemingly equal tenacity and both have presented you with their standard employment contracts that are prohibitively long, ominous sounding and completely outside of your interest or capability to decipher. However, Mayo decided to add an addendum to the front of the contract which is a very well-written, cordial and heartfelt invitation from your prospective department’s chairman that also outlines the highlights of the contract and invites you to sign the letter as merely a gesture of your intent to join the team, whereas the Cleveland Clinic did not include such a personal touch. Which position do you already feel better about, if only slightly?

Sometimes it’s the little things than can make a huge difference as a physician recruiter and a well-written letter of intent can tip the scales in favor of your practice opportunity over another. A letter of intent is a non-legally binding written gesture and agreement between candidate and prospective employer that outlines the terms of employment and says that we agree in principle to pursue this proposed relationship to the best of our ability, and to the exclusion of all others, and that barring some extenuating circumstance such as an inability to create a mutually agreeable employment contract, we will be working together.

Letters of intent are certainly not idiosyncratic of just the physician employment world, and they basically stand upon the premise that when someone makes a promise, if even just an informal, non-legally binding one, they will stick by it. Furthermore, for physician recruiters, a letter of intent is seen as a candidate reaching an enormous mental milestone within the interview process, as most candidates with any scruples will not sign a letter of intent, lest they truly, truly intend to take the position. Moreover, it is generally accepted that once the letter of intent is inked, the easier it will be for the candidate to take the step of inking the contract itself. Here are some tips when it comes to a letter of intent (“LOI”):

Make sure there is a warm, heartfelt tone. Most properly drafted employment contracts are dry and unforgiving, so make the LOI serve the functioning of buffering the contract with some “warm fuzzy” sentiment…but don’t overdo it. Have someone else read it, like your recruiter, to see if you have laid it on too thick; Be sure and hit all the highlights of the employment agreement, such as pay, benefits, term of contract, etc., but there is no need to include anything that could be seen as a negative, like non-competition language.

Since the LOI is not a legal agreement, why would you include within it something like a non-compete which concerns termination of employment, when employment has not even been established? Notwithstanding the foregoing about being warm and heartfelt, also be as brief and succinct as possible. The candidate will probably have plenty of reading to do when it comes to the contract itself so no need to overdo it with an unnecessarily verbose LOI. A single page is adquate; Make sure it is clearly spelled out that the LOI does NOT constitute a legally binding agreement as failure to do this will make it much less likely of getting a signed LOI; Have a place on the LOI for the prospective candidate to sign, but also have a place for the representative of the hiring entity to sign and make sure it is already inked by this person prior to presenting the LOI to the candidate. There is something nice about receiving an LOI already half-executed in blue ink. It makes the offer all the more real (yes, this may sound cheesy, but this is true); Most importantly, do not consider the recruitment process to be over once the LOI has been signed and that the contract negotiation period is a mere formality. While a signed LOI is encouraging and a great sign, you are a LONG way from home before you have a new addition to your practice; As soon as feasible after the mutual signing of the LOI, formal contract review and negotiation should begin.

The longer you wait to get to a mutually agreeable the contract, the more likely you are to not ever get there. You never know… in this highly competitive market in our world of dermatology and plastic surgery offers abound and they might just pop up with a better offer before you have made a legally binding agreement. At WBrown Consulting as an experienced team of professional dermatology and plastic surgery recruiters, we have assisted with writing countless letters of intent for various entities. We would be more than happy to review any letter of intent you already have written and should you like some guidance or for a free sample of one, please feel free to call us at 203-987-2424 or email wendy@wbconsults.com  .