Implementation of a Comprehensive Curriculum in Personal Finance for Medical Fellows

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Financial Literacy
• Physician Well-being

Background:

• Medical trainees often lack unbiased financial planning guidance.
• Insufficient financial knowledge can lead to detrimental financial decisions for physicians and their families.
• Objective financial education is crucial for empowering residents and fellows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide comprehensive, unbiased financial education to fellows.
• To empower fellows to make timely and constructive financial decisions.
• To assess the impact of financial literacy training on medical trainees.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 18 fellows attended an 8-hour interactive personal finance course.
• The course was facilitated by an unbiased business school faculty member.
• Participants completed pre- and post-course surveys to evaluate impact and financial decisions made.

Main Results:

• All 12 respondents strongly agreed on the importance of financial literacy for trainees.
• 11 out of 12 respondents reported making significant financial decisions post-course.
• Participants provided 21 examples of tangible financial actions resulting from the education.

Conclusions:

• Objective financial literacy education yields substantial benefits for medical fellows.
• Graduate medical education should incorporate unbiased financial education for all trainees.
• Financial education should be delivered by experts without conflicts of interest in financial product sales.