K. G. Burge1, W. Haynes1, M. Katta1, B. Cooke1, O. Patel1, N. J. Van Wagoner2 1University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA 2University Of Alabama at Birmingham, Division Of Infectious Diseases, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Introduction: Though physicians occupy a financially unique space due to high debt associated with student loans and a high, consistent earning potential, little time is spent in medical school on teaching financial literacy, and financial literacy among medical students transitioning to residency is low. Those with student loans must decide to defer or begin to repay. Residents begin to earn a salary – many for the first time in their lives – and have a higher earning potential than much of the country. The MedScape General Surgeon Compensation Report of 2021 reports U.S. general surgeons having an average $373,000 yearly salary. The financial decisions that residents and physicians make have important implications on their financial security, and those with financial literacy are more likely to make better financial decisions. The purpose of this project is to understand financial literacy among residents of allopathic training programs in the U.S.
Methods:
A secure, online survey was created using Qualtrics consisting of questions to assess resident’s demographics and knowledge of financial literacy. Program directors of allopathic general surgery, cardiothoracic (CT) surgery, plastic surgery, and vascular surgery programs were emailed and requested to distribute the survey amongst their residents. The knowledge portion of the survey included ten questions. The first five questions were “The Big Five”, used in the 2009 U.S. National Financial Capability Study (NFCS). The second five questions were intended to test an additional five topics pertinent to medical residents: retirement, real estate, insurance, investments, and loan repayment. Microsoft Excel and SPSS were utilized for statistical analysis, and a P value <0.05 was considered significant.
Results: A total of 94 complete responses were received. 5 of these responses were from CT surgery residents, 8 from plastic surgery residents, 5 from vascular surgery residents, and 76 from general surgery residents. The average age of participants was 31 years old. Average STEP 1 score was 240, whereas average STEP 2 CK score was 250. Post-medical school debt of $200,000-$300,000 was most selected by participants. Only 17% of respondents report having previously taken a course related to finance. 39% of participants in the NCFS answered all of “The Big Five” correctly, whereas only 32% of surgical residents answered these questions correctly. Of the remaining five questions, respondents were most knowledgeable on disability insurance (98% correct), and least knowledgeable on loan repayment (23% correct).
Conclusion: Surgical residents often leave medical school with a large sum of debt while simultaneously possessing a large earning potential, making financial literacy a crucial skill for residents to possess. When asked the same five questions, surgical residents on average scored less than the rest of the country. Therefore, incorporating a financial literacy curriculum into both medical school and resident education programs is a necessity.