Personal Finance Education for Residents: A Qualitative Study of Resident Perspectives

TLDR

Personal finance is linked to wellness and resiliency, yet residents exhibit low financial literacy. The study aims to describe residents’ financial knowledge, attitudes, and experiences to inform a personal‑finance curriculum that could improve trainees’ financial well‑being. Semistructured interviews with 12 residents across emergency medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics were conducted and analyzed using existing frameworks to identify themes of daily finances, knowledge, and planning approaches. Residents show low financial literacy, high interest in education, and debt‑related anxiety, and the resulting framework can guide curriculum development to promote financial wellness.

Abstract

Personal finance has been linked to wellness and resiliency; however, the level of financial literacy among residents is low. Development of a personal finance curriculum could improve the financial well-being of trainees. The first step in this process is understanding residents' educational needs.The objective was to describe the financial knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of residents to inform the design of a personal finance curriculum.A qualitative approach using semistructured interviews was used to explore the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of residents in the realm of personal finance. Twelve residents completed interviews: one male and one female resident from the first and third years of training in the specialties of emergency medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics.Three themes were formulated and analyzed through the existing frameworks: 1) daily finances, 2) financial knowledge and experiences, and 3) approach to financial planning. Prominent subthemes included a lack of knowledge and desire for personal finance education, debt-related anxiety, and uncertainty where to find reliable financial advice.Residents report a low level of financial literacy and high interest in financial education. The framework provided in this study can inform the design of education interventions to promote financial wellness in trainees.