<< Back to the abstract archive
Financial Literacy in Plastic Surgical Training: Where Do We Stand?
Casey Kraft, MD; Peter Krasniak, MD; Andrew O'Brien, MD; Maria T. Huayllani, MD; Gregory Pearson, MD; Amy M. Moore, MD
The Ohio State University
2022-01-31
Presenter: Maria T. Huayllani
Affidavit:
I certify that the material proposed for presentation in this abstract has not been published in any scientific journal or previously presented at a major meeting.
Director Name: Gregory Pearson, MD
Author Category: Fellow Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Background: Financial literacy helps to effectively manage many financial situations that define professional and personal life. We aimed to evaluate the current financial status and knowledge amongst Plastic Surgery residents.
Methods: A 33-item survey querying financial status and financial literacy of plastic surgery residents was sent to all the current accredited US residency programs through the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons. A descriptive analysis was performed, and multiple Fisher's Exact tests evaluated comparisons.
Results: Eighty-six residents were included in the study. Most of the trainees had a student loan (59.3%) and at least one personal loan debt other than educational (51.1%). Most of the residents who "never" or "rarely" paid their monthly balance off had ≥$300k student loan debts (66.7%) compared with those who "sometimes or very often" (33.3%) or "always" (19.3%) paid their balance off (p=0.041). A total of 17.4% of trainees did not have a plan for how to invest their retirement savings, whereas 55.8% did not know how much they need to save to retire. Regarding their opinion on financial literacy, 20.9% of trainees did not feel prepared to manage personal finances/retirement planning after graduation, 52.3% stated not to have any formal personal finance education as part of their curriculum, 45.3% felt dissatisfied with the financial literacy offered during training, and 89.5% agreed that financial literacy education would be beneficial.
Conclusion: Many residents do not have a broad knowledge of personal finance. Additional financial literacy education is critically needed in Plastic Surgery training.
