The big question of financing medical school and residency interviews is often swept under the rug, but this year things are – believe it or not – simpler: The virtual interview process is going to save everyone – applicants and institutions – a wad of cash. Please check out my Physician on Fire guest post The Virtual Interview for Medical School and Residency Will Save Everyone a Bundle of Money and feel free to share.
For many of us, medical training means taking on significant debt and learning to manage complex personal finances. Many financial advisors “specialize” in physicians (like wolves who specialize in sheep?), and young doctors have a reputation as easy targets.
How can you defend yourself against financial predators, kill your debt early, and learn to manage your own portfolio? (And where can you even learn what a portfolio is?) Crispy Doc offers a blog dedicated to financial literacy for the newly minted physician with an emphasis on early financial independence for doctors.
Check out his blog, and learn from Crispy Doc’s recent Student Doctor Network article.
This NYT article regarding college students’ recruitment to Wall Street is compelling. The author highlights the financial incentives that direct students to financial careers – and away from graduate degrees like medicine.
I recently read a NYT piece called, “Why Would Anyone Choose to Become a Doctor?” by Dr. Danielle Ofri. It’s a sweet essay written by a physician who describes being perplexed by the large number of medical school applicants yearly, considering her profession’s numerous annoyances.
As the author considers alternatives to her career, however, she comes to the conclusion that her clinical encounters make it all worthwhile. The essay is a nice pick-me-up.
A recent article in the NY Times highlights how individual debt taken on as a student has the power to adversely affect one’s subsequent relationships. You can link to the article here.
You are feeling less anxious and more comfortable with the whole medical school applications game. The interviews keep rolling in. Finally, you start to receive acceptance letters from multiple schools. Suddenly you find yourself in the enviable position of having a choice between a reputable state school, where tuition is relatively low, and a reputable private school, where you will go deeply into debt. You visit the private school and see stars: the buildings are made of marble, the admissions officials wear designer suits, and the alumni network, everyone assures you, will give you a leg up in residency applications. Should financial considerations play into your decision? Should you ignore finances and follow your heart, assuming that as a future physician you’ll comfortably be able to pay off any educational debt? Read more ›
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
