Need for Employee Contracts

Question: Our clinical nurse specialist is changing from working as a contractor to an employee. Do I need to use a written agreement or is our verbal agreement enough?

Answer: I suggest you use a written contract. If things go south, everyone will remember his own version of the verbal agreement. Download a sample physician employment agreement from the AMA Web site; you can adapt the language to suit your particular needs.

Be sure to cover these key issues:

• compensation;

• schedule;

• call schedule; and

• dissolving the relationship.