A medical resident ’s guide to personal finance

Let’s start with the most important part first. Your primary goal while in residency/fellowship is to become a great doctor. The kicker is that you also have to devote some time to your finances and not completely neglect them. We will outline the few financial items you should worry about while in residency. Student loans If you don’t have student loans, go ahead and skip to the next item; however, the unfortunate fact is that most medical residents are straddled with student debt and lots of it. Personally, I think getting your student loans organized as an intern/PGY-1 is one of the most important financial tasks a medical professional can do. The desired goal of any medical professional should be to have their student debt forgiven, thanks to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The best shot you have at PSLF is by starting your debt payments right out of medical school. PSLF will require 120 payments (10 years) on your federal consolidated loans to have them forgiven. The 10 years are critical because your residency/fellowship can be anywhere from three to seven years. Let’s assume it takes you six years, you now only have four years left to qualify for PSLF. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Residency Source Type: blogs