Re: Residents and Non-Competes

Re: Residents and Non-Competes

Justin Foster

4/29/2006

Dear list,

Off hand, it seems reasonable that a residency site should be allowed to ask
ALL employees to sign non-compete agreements. The resident may well be be
privy to trade secrets and other sensitive business and proprietary
information through the course of their year of experience, and depending on
the market, may be in a position to gain from that information.

That is just my first thought... it would be most instructive/interesting
for us to find out what is standard practice in similar disciplines. Are PT
students/interns on their clerkship (not sure what it is called) commonly
asked to sign such agreements?

Also, it is worth noting that no-one can require you to sign such an
agreement. You can use the request as a tool to evaluate the ethos of the
potential residency site... and get up and leave accordingly!

So yes, I think it should be allowed... and even think it is ethical to do
so, but may not be in a particular resident's best interest to get involved
with that company. For me, the best part of our current set-up is there is
great freedom in the resident's selecting their site based on their
continuing educational needs. It is great for an advanced student to go to a
high-caliber acedemic program, and equally great for a worker bee to get
thrown in right away (sink or swim approach). Both have their place.

Note to students: choose your site carefully, there are a ton out there, and
one is right for you... be honest with what YOU need, and do everything you
can to make sure the facility is honest in what they need, and what they can
or will provide. This isn't Match Day, you're in charge!

I'm also tempted to say - sign away, that'd be hard for an employer to
enforce!!! - but I'm not a lawyer, and LexisNexis didn't have anything
relevant in a quick browse... so who knows???

Sincerely,

Justin Foster, un-LPO (since we're doing funny credentials now, I thought
this would be apropos for practitioners in States w/o licensure! Maybe
non-LPO is better??? We should vote...)



>From: Robert Rhodes, CPO < <Email Address Redacted> >
>Reply-To: <Email Address Redacted>
>To: <Email Address Redacted>
>Subject: Re: [OANDP-L] Residents and Non-Competes
>Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 16:52:35 +0000
>
>Dino,
>I think this points up a significant misunderstanding by our profession of
>what a residency program is. I think that Mark Taylor, CPO, the Clinical
>and Technical Director at UMOPC, put it best. He said, A residency is the
>student's last year of education, NOT their first year of employment.
>This misunderstanding is played out in many ways. Just two examples:
>A student seeking a residency was told that she wasn't qualified because
>she wasn't a skilled technician.
>Students seeking information on products, prices, etc. for homework
>assignments are often told that they can't be given any information unless
>they are a CO or CP.
>One can imagine the frustration this causes for the students.
>I must say, these are not the typical responses, but they are common enough
>that it is worth mentioning. Most clinical sites, residency sites and
>companies are overwhelmingly supportive of students, residents and fellows.
>But, as is human nature, it's the other ones that get talked about.
>I think that one reason for this is that technology and education have
>changed so much in so few years that it is easy for an older practitioner
>to expect that education is, and should be, the way it was when he or she
>was in school. And that's just not so.
>I'll be interested to see what other comments arise from this thread.
>All the best,
>Robert
>(also posted to list)
>
>--
>Robert L. Rhodes, MPA, CO
>Director, Orthotics and Prosthetics Programs
>Eastern Michigan University
>
>-------------- Original message --------------
>From: Dino M. Scanio < <Email Address Redacted> >
>
> > To the O & P world,
> >
> > Why would we ask a Resident to sign a non-compete???? Isn�t our
>obligation to
> > help educate, shape, and foster a well-rounded practitioner? NO company
>should
> > ask a resident to sign a non-compete!!!!!! It is the obligation of that
> > residency to educate our future practitioners. To sign a non-compete as
>a
> > resident creates a sense of paranoia and insecurity. Let�s not get into
>the
> > debate about whether this is ethical or not! NOT! I will agree that once
>they
> > are certified, a non-compete is understandable.
> >
> > I call for the governing bodies such as NCOPE and ABC to ask all
>accredited
> > residency locations to STOP having residents sign non-competes or pull
>their
> > accreditation. They chose to be a residency site with the intention to
>educate,
> > nurture and encourage without LIMITATIONS.
> >
> > Dino M. Scanio, C.O., L.O.
> >