This was a post I discovered at 0500 this morning but is worthwhile for all PAs in accepting a contract. Great for NPs also.

I have worked as a psychiatric P.A. for my current employer for over three years. He recently gave me an employee contract his attorneys had drawn up for me to sign. In the contract, there is a noncompete clause. It states I cannot work with another physician during my employment or for one year after terminating my employment within a ten-mile radius of his practice(s). This includes a psychiatric hospital, where I am seeing partial hospitalization patients(?) I do not want to sign this contract because it could affect my livelihood. Has anyone been confronted with this same problem? If so, what did you do?
 
I was a regional manager for a surgical company, and my job was to find hospitals that needed first assistants, meet with their administrators, sell them the idea, find surgical PAs who were proficient in at least three areas of specialty, hire them to first assist only and give them a nice paycheck. I brought in almost a dozen hospitals and made millions for the company, but the downside was the non-compete contract. Some of those that chose to leave the company for something better were unable to work for surgeons that they worked with as a company or in their hospitals. Basically, it meant that some PAs had to leave the state for employment. 
I am an advocate for the surgical PA and fought to let them have a life that kept them in 2-3 hospitals and limited their call but the greed of the company wanted more call and more traveling to hospitals further away. I fought for my colleagues until I was called to my company headquarters and asked by the COO to number my concerns. 
Was it the company? 
Was it Bob Blumm? 
Was it the PA profession? Was it the PAs in the team? 
My answer astounded them and caused me to leave within 30 days. 
The team was first, the profession was second, Bob Blumm was third and the company was last. 
I was honest which is my manner of doing things and the answers from the point of management really sucked. 
I saw some excellent PAs who had to switch specialties for a year and then they were hired as general surgical PAs. 
My response to your question and to all those that are thinking of a comfortable job that includes a non-compete clause is to bring the entire contract to an attorney who is a specialist in contract law at your cost. Secondly, in most cases, I would forget the simplicities of this nice sounding job, as they will add on many additional duties, hospitals and surgeons, with time. 
Last but certainly not least is the fact that they will force you to use their malpractice insurance, which is substandard and is not even close to a personal liability policy. This alone becomes a reason to either insist on your company with a personal policy or forfeit the job. Just my humble advice. Extrication from these contracts is almost impossible without spending much money or lateral mobilization. Please do not be so eager on your desire to find employment that you enter into a non-compete policy without some real thought and legal advice. You'll kiss Advanced Practice Jobs and Clinician1.com for this advice.