I always heard stories that attendings get job offer for them and their spouses, which could work if both are planning to be at the same hospital. I am curious how though. During the interview many said we would be happy to help your wife find a job, continue education…etc. But what my mentor once told me, if you hear something and it’s not in the contract then don’t presume it will be there.
So wonder if you can include spouses’s further education like MS, PhD, residency…etc in contract negotiations
It's totally fair game to ask about securing a position for a spouse, especially if they are a physician or in the medical field where ideally you would like to be working for the same hospital/institution. Programs that are seriously interested in you will make an effort and recognize this as a critical issue to securing your employment. However, in almost all cases (barring your spouse being a researcher who would also be employed by neurosurgery or something in that vein) your chairman will not be able to explicitly guarantee this in a contract, as your spouse's job will be offered by a different department over which your chair has no direct control. What you can ask for is that your chair connect your spouse with the appropriate people for their position and ensure that you both have contracts in hand before signing anything (your spouse will likely need to interview/apply for a job in the relevant department, so it should become obvious fairly early on how real the position for them is). This is what I did in a similar situation several years ago and it worked out fine.
I would be very cautious about accepting a position with a future promise of 'we'll work something out' for your spouse later. Once you're in the door your leverage goes way down, and there can also be a simple case of promises being made that can't easily be kept. Circumstances change and what maybe made sense at the time of your negotiations no longer works for whatever reason. I know some colleagues who have ended up in this situation and it obviously causes strain on a number of fronts.
Yes - had to walk away from a some jobs post-interview since faculty position for physician spouse this could not be guaranteed up front. Also, nobody will be able to promise you in writing a residency or graduate program slot, as these have official processes and would impact transparency/equity. Best strategy is a true dual recruitment with both chairs working on your candidacies simultaneously.
Very doable, you just need an admin that is willing to work with you. My co-resident one year above me did this successfully without any challenges. Essentially it comes down to not signing until you both have a contract in hand though.
