Navigating Employee Benefits

Benefits

When comparing job offers, benefits can be the deciding factor but they can also be difficult to evaluate.  If it is your current job vs a new one, or two competing offers, evaluating the salary difference is pretty simple but benefits on the other hand definitely require some thought. Let’s take a look at some of the most common benefits and how they might affect your decision of which job is right for you. 

Paid time off

Paid time off, or PTO as it is now commonly called, is one of the easiest benefits to evaluate but there are some nuances. It is pretty easy to put a dollar amount on your PTO.  All you need to do is figure out your hourly or daily rate, if you have a salary instead of hourly pay you can estimate.  Once you have your number just multiply it by the amount of PTO you get to find the exact dollar amount this benefit is worth.  Sounds simple right, hold on a second, what is included in PTO?  I don’t love this term because it sounds like it's vacation time but some practices have started to include sick time and CME time.  Therefore it is important to distinguish what is included in PTO. 

CME

Most hospitals and medical practices offer CME these days.  It is still worthwhile to look at the details of the CME benefit.  First of all, do they include CME time or are you expected to use your vacation?  In my opinion if they don’t include time they don’t really value training.  Three days of CME time is typical and reasonable.  Second, how much is the benefit and what does it cover?  I worked for a practice that had a $1,500 annual CME benefit but it did not cover any travel expenses, only the cost of the conference was covered, so not a real $1,500 benefit.  $1500 annually is pretty standard, I have seen $2000 at some practices.  If the CME budget seems low, find out what the doctor's CME budget is.  PAs have the same CME requirement as the docs so we should have the same budget.   

Medical / Dental / Vision

Medical coverage or health insurance is the big one here.  Most dental and vision plans do not cost that much and do not pay out that much either.  Health insurance can be very difficult to value.  Most organizations offer multiple plans at different costs that have different coverage.  Health insurance is complicated even for medical providers.  Instead of trying to evaluate all the plans they offer, why not focus on what the employer contributes?  Do they contribute to the cost of your medical coverage and if so how much?  You probably will not be able to change the plans they offer but you might be able to negotiate contributions to that plan. 

401k

401k or 403b in not for profit hospitals is a very common benefit these days.  It’s relatively easy to evaluate if you know what to look for.  The first thing to realize is just because the benefit is offered does not mean the employer pays into it.  You do have to ask if they pay into the 401k and if so how much and under what conditions.  Is it a match of your contribution up to a certain amount?  Do they pay into it regardless of if you do and if so how much.  Another thing to consider is if your employer does contribute you probably need to be vested before you actually can get the funds.  Employers usually want 3-5 years before you are vested which I think is reasonable but keep the timeline in mind because if you leave early you will never see that money.  401k might not seem like a big deal your first or second year of practice but after 10 years the difference between having a 401k that your employer also contributes to and not is substantial.  That money will really grow with time. 

Percs

If there are any other obvious non traditional benefits, you should consider them when evaluating your benefits.  Maybe your employer buys lunch every day or weekly.  Are there company outings that might interest you, golf trips, retreats or medical missions?  I have even heard of practices buying cars for their PAs, but obviously it’s not common. 

Take away

When thinking about a new opportunity, take some time to evaluate the entire package.  In general hospitals tend to have a more consistent benefits package than private practice but there are always exceptions.  There are many things other than salary that can affect your life.  Salary, benefits, schedule and scope of work, these are the elements of a job that combined should be considered. 

Good luck out there and good job hunting. 

Pharaoh Sargent PA-C

Founder PA Staffing Solutions

PAhiring.com