May 6, 2024
In this spring season, I fondly remember putting the finishing touches on medical school by ending on fun rotations, waiting for the residency match results, and preparing for residency. While generally a great time to celebrate the monumental accomplishment of graduating medical school and looking forward to “learning how to be a doctor” in residency, I do recall one moment of panic: What about those student loans I had been living on the last four years?
During medical school, I really didn’t consider my loans very often. After the initial sticker-shock and the “what did I just get into” moment, I suppressed all knowledge and plowed forward into medical studies. It was easy to think of it as “Monopoly money” or just put it off until residency “when I make a paycheck.” However, when residency started, I had a rude awakening. The paychecks really didn’t match my desires to support a family and pay loans off, too. Therefore, like a lot of residents, I put off repaying loans until I would make a “real doctor’s wages.”
I eventually made it out of residency and got my first “real” job as a doctor (even if I might have stalled by sticking around for a fellowship year). I was happy to be making more money and finally able to find some breathing room financially. Quickly, I realized there were many things, in addition to student loans, that I had been putting off in life. I began to realize that there were competing entities for this newfound paycheck. Bills, moving to a new city, credit card debt, and some poor luck with automobiles through the years had taken their toll.
I also found that I had not been planning for the financial future. I had failed to think about disability and life insurance, emergency funds, retirement savings, college funds for children, and many other considerations. If that was not enough, I felt the urge to let loose! We wanted to enjoy some of these new funds by spending more generously on “fun things” like restaurants, shopping, and maybe even a vacation since we had been living very meagerly over the last eight years of medical school, residency, and my fellowship. I quickly found myself saying, “What do I do?” and “No one told us about this in med school!”
The years that followed were quite a long road. I feel compelled to share my experiences and try to provide wisdom for those who might be living through this road now or in the future. My greatest lesson was finally admitting that, frankly, I had no idea what I was doing, and then putting my pride aside and seeking help. Specifically, help looking at my physician employment contract to ensure that I was maximizing my worth to the company and community. I wanted to ensure that I was getting all the benefits I was due.
Second, I developed a relationship with a financial planning guru to balance the needs to budget, pay bills, pay off outstanding debt, plan for the future, but also attack the medical school loans. We were able to craft a plan that has evolved over time depending on my family’s needs and financial circumstances. Lastly, I changed my attitude and mentality. Knowing I had a plan and a team I could trust, my anxieties lessened, and I was more confident about reaching the goal of being student debt-free. And I am happy to report as of January 2024, we have paid off all our student loans. It took eight years and lots of sacrifices, but we made it. Mission accomplished! And we did it while adding to the family. We now have three children between a few months old and nine years old.
However, the goal of this article is not to gloat over my personal success but to reach out and provide hope to those who might be struggling with this issue. Your academy is quite attuned to this issue. We are building resources and forging partnerships to help, whether it’s by reviewing an employment contract for residents or helping you find a financial planner.
Also, your academy’s advocacy team has placed a focus on this issue with health care systems, payors, and legislators. Some of our early successes have been a new “Forgivable Educational Loans for Service” program specifically for medical students entering primary care or psychiatry, and additional loan repayment programs to help you pay off your student debt sooner. But this is a long battle. And we will keep fighting for a better future where students, residents, and early-career physicians are less burdened by this debt and able to more fully focus on their patients, families, and communities.
Lastly, if this message has resonated with you, I would implore you to continue on that long road. Stay focused and do not lose hope! Continue to be diligent and a good steward of your resources, but forget your pride and ask for help when needed. Your NCAFP leadership and staff are happy to help when appropriate, and there are lots of community resources available as well. Keep working hard and good things will happen!