Affective, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes from a resident personal finance curriculum pilot project

Abstract

Background:The transition to residency marks a significant shift in the financial circumstances of medical trainees. Despite existing resources, residents still cite uncertainty in this domain. A personal finance curriculum is needed to close this educational gap and improve the financial well-being of trainees. Methods:The curriculum was developed using Kern's framework. Two needs assessments informed the consensus development of goals and objectives, educational strategies, and assessments. Course material was hosted online for asynchronous review and complemented by two 1-hour webinars. The curriculum was piloted at one institution. Participants completed (1) knowledge assessments before and after the intervention, (2) a survey of reactions to the curriculum, and (3) an assessment of financial behavioral changes after the intervention.Results: Thirty-seven residents (37/49, 76%) enrolled in the curriculum. Among participants, 20 (20/37, 54%) completed the curriculum. Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that the content was relevant (20/20, 100%) and clearly presented (19/20, 95%) and that they would recommend the curriculum to other residents (20/20, 100%). Performance on the knowledge assessment improved 21% after the intervention (mean ± SD = pretest 57% ± 17%, posttest = 78% ± 12%; p < 0.001). Most residents (17/20, 85%) also reported behavioral changes including setting new financial goals (12/20, 60%), taking new action toward financial planning (11/20, 55%), and changing financial habits (6/20, 30%). There were no direct financial costs incurred in the implementation of this pilot.Conclusions: This is a successful pilot of a virtual personal finance curriculum with positive outcomes data. Addressing this problem at scale will require buy-in from educators around the country to deliver this information to residents that may not otherwise seek it out. Future study should assess curricular outcomes in other settings and the durability of acquired knowledge and behavioral changes over time.

Systematic review of personal finance training for physicians and a proposed curriculum

“… 32 Finally, two studies showed an increased utilisation of knowledge (Behaviour). 13 30 33 38 However, no study revealed the impact of the curricula on participant organisations, employers or households (Results).…”

“…If there are time constraints, the topics labelled as optional may be dropped. Of note, the curricula may be delivered in-person or virtually as recommended by Shappell et al , 8 and as executed by Shappell et al 13 and Grewal and Sweeney. 10 Virtual content can be delivered either synchronously or asynchronously.…”

“…10 One study involved a physician who owns a personal finance website and funding from the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine. 13 The three remaining studies used a combination of faculty and credentialed financial-services professionals. 32 33 58 Two of the 10 studies were primarily offered asynchronously online.…”

“…Validation and generalisability To our knowledge, none of the studies used truly validated preintervention or postintervention surveys and knowledge tests, although one study partially addressed validation. 13 Due to lack of validation, some questions measuring participant knowledge and attitudes could have been unclear or overestimated learning. In fact, one of the studies compared self-assessments with tests of financial concepts and found a significant discrepancy between the two.…”

“…A lack of personal finance literacy makes financial decision-making difficult among medical trainees and practitioners. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] As a result, medical students, trainees and early career physicians may not make optimal choices regarding budgeting, saving, investing, insurance and other financial decisions, which are particularly important during a time when finances are especially constrained by high debt. 4-7 10-13 [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Therefore, these groups can experience increased stress and anxiety and a lower quality of life.…”