Money Matters: An Educational Intervention to Improve Financial Wellness and Literacy Among Medical Students

Objective or purpose of innovation: We created a curriculum for medical students that targets gaps in personal finance and assessed self-perception of financial wellness and literacy.

Background and/or theoretical framework and importance to the field: Financial stressors associated with student loan debt and poor financial literacy leads to burnout among medical students and professionals. Providing earlier financial training may inform proactive planning and improve overall wellness.

Design: First-year medical students participated in an education activity covering topics such as personal finance, budgeting, student loans, and loan repayment programs. Participants reviewed informational handouts and watched pre-recorded videos followed by a faculty-led debrief in small groups. A 12-question survey was delivered to participants after the activity to retrospectively evaluate self-perception of financial literacy before and after the curricular intervention (retrospective pre-post approach). Likert-scale items (1:4, strongly disagree: strongly agree) were used. Pre- and post-activity mean scores were compared using paired t-tests.

Outcomes: Out of the 77 participants, 69 (90%) completed the survey. Overall, participants felt more confident in their personal financial knowledge (2.38 vs 3.06, p<.001), and 98% of participants agreed that this activity motivated them to learn more about financial literacy. For debt management, participants felt more confident in building a strategy to manage financial debt (2.77 vs 3.33, p<0.001), cultivated a better understanding of loan terms (2.49 vs 3.57, p<0.001), and became more aware of loan repayment options (2.43 vs 3.51, p<0.001). All participants agreed that this activity should be continued for future medical students (27% somewhat agree, 73% strongly agree).

Innovation’s strengths and limitations: Financial literacy education is associated with improved understanding, confidence, and appreciation of personal finance among medical students and should be considered for inclusion in other medical education programs.

Feasibility and generalizability: A short instructional video combined with group discussion can be an effective model for addressing this sometimes under-appreciated aspect of student wellness.