Employment Contracting Basics for the Nurse Practitioner

•If properly negotiated, employment contracts offer many protections.•Understanding the terms and conditions of the contract are essential to avoiding conflict.•Hiring an attorney to represent the NP’s interest in negotiating an employment contract offers the best possible outcome.•Breach is failure for one of the parties to fulfill their obligation under the contract in whole or in part.

Finding the right position is a goal of every beginning nurse practitioner. After many long hours of study and clinical to achieve an advanced degree, the postgraduation pay-off is entering into advanced practice. Although the new nurse practitioner is anxious to join the nearly 200,000 already in practice, taking the time to weigh essential contract negotiation strategies before entering into an employment contract may prevent the dream of a perfect position from becoming a night terror.