When should I sign a contract?

[ADMIN]

When should I sign a contract?

You may be presented with some different options after being accepted to a CRNA program. Some hospitals and anesthesia groups may offer you a contract as soon as your are accepted to a program. These contracts usually will include some benefit to the student while s/he is in school, such as a stipend or help with loans. There are rare groups that even offer contracts that pay for tuition and books while you are in school. None of these contracts are without strings, of course. These contracts will include a clause that requires you to work for the contracting hospital or anesthesia group for a set period of time, usually at least two years. Therefore, it would be to your benefit to know as much as possible about the hospital or group before signing the contract. Ask questions about hours required, call time, pay, etc. See the next question for more information.

[E03]

I'm trying to research the next step while my wife is locked in a room studying for her next exam. She will graduate in Dec 2014, her nature is to go with what she knows, which will be her clinical site. I would assume a large hospital is a good place to start your career, so you can gain experience from a large variaty of situations. My wife is very determined and motivated,(after seeing what your school is like, I'm sure all of you are determined and motivated) so she will look for the job that will provide her with the best opportunity to learn and develop her skills. We have two boys that will be 5 and 3 when she graduates, so a predictable schedule is important to me but I also understand that you don't normally land in the best gig as a rookie. What are the job/career paths that are available now, and what are some questions to ask in the process of looking for your first job. This thread is over 6 years old, I have'nt heard of anyone offering tuition assistance in our area. We live in Oklahoma, I've heard of CRNAs starting out around $150K is that realistic? As we look at pay/benifit packages, what should we be looking for and what should we stay away from?
Thank you,
Please do not judge my wife based on my spelling and grammer.

[etherscreen]

don't forget to consider the entire package. salary is but a single piece of the pie. other components worthy of consideration are retirement!, insurance, vacation, cme, etc. compare total package to total package. and of course this is in addition to perceived satisfaction gained with any of the particular jobs.

[E03]

What is cme? I'm assuming "perceived stisfaction" will be more clear after clinicals.

[ethernaut]

continuing medical education.. we use CE, which is continuing education credits... since we don't practice medicine. most employers will reimburse up to a certain dollar amount per year for your choosing (weekend pain course worth 10 CEs, etc.).