You finally have an offer in hand. Maybe you have two or three. Either way, salary is probably the first number you looked at, but it’s far from the only thing that matters when you’re deciding where to spend the next chapter of your career.
Start With The Work Itself
Before anything else, get clear on what your day-to-day will actually look like. What is the anticipated number of patients you will see each shift? What’s the call schedule, and how is it shared among partners? A higher salary can evaporate fast if you’re taking call every third night while your colleagues at another practice rotate every sixth.
When you’re sorting through jobs for an OBGYN, the clinical environment deserves just as much scrutiny as the compensation package. Ask about the patient population, case complexity, and whether the role leans more toward obstetrics, gynecology, or a true mix. If you trained to do minimally invasive surgery, find out whether the facility actually supports that kind of work.
Look At The Practice Structure
Who are you working with, and how is the group organized? Partnership track timelines vary wildly. Within three to five years, certain methods provide a clear route to equity ownership. Others keep physicians on a permanent employed model with no ownership stake. Neither is automatically wrong, but you should know what you’re walking into.
Ask these questions directly:
- Is there a written partnership track, and what are the benchmarks?
- How are profits distributed among partners?
- What happens to your patient panel if you leave?
- Is there a non-compete clause, and how broad is it geographically?
Benefits Are Part Of Your Total Compensation
People focus on base salary and overlook the benefits package, which is a mistake. Malpractice coverage is a big one. Find out whether the policy is claims-made or occurrence-based, and whether tail coverage is included if you leave. Tail coverage can cost tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket if you’re responsible for it yourself.
Also look at retirement contributions, health insurance, disability coverage, and CME allowances. A group that pays for your conference travel, dues, and licensure fees is quietly adding real value to your offer.
Consider The Location And Your Life Outside Work
This sounds obvious, but it often gets treated as secondary when it shouldn’t. Where you live affects your housing costs, commute, family life, and long-term happiness in ways that are hard to fully price. A $50,000 salary difference can look very different depending on whether you’re in a high cost-of-living metro or a mid-sized city where your dollars go further.
Think honestly about proximity to family, school quality if you have kids, and whether the community is somewhere you can actually put down roots.
Ask About Support And Resources
A well-staffed practice makes your job manageable. A poorly staffed one grinds you down. Ask about medical assistant ratios, scheduling support, and how much administrative work lands on you versus support staff. Find out whether there’s a dedicated triage line or whether patient calls come directly to you after hours.
Hospital resources matter too. Check on anesthesia availability, NICU level of care, and whether you’ll have consistent OR block time if you operate regularly.
Trust What You Learn During The Process
How a group treats you during recruitment is usually how they’ll treat you as a colleague. Were they transparent and responsive? Did they answer your questions directly? Did anything feel evasive?
Your instincts are data. Use them.
