An assessment of residents' and fellows' personal finance literacy: an unmet medical education need.

<p><b>Objectives: </b>This study aimed to assess residents' and fellows' knowledge of finance principles that may affect their personal financial health.</p><p><b>Methods: </b>A cross-sectional, anonymous, web-based survey was administered to a convenience sample of residents and fellows at two academic medical centers.&nbsp; Respondents answered 20 questions on personal finance and 28 questions about their own financial planning, attitudes, and debt. Questions regarding satisfaction with one's financial condition and investment-risk tolerance used a 10-point Likert scale (1=lowest, 10=highest).&nbsp; Of 2,010 trainees, 422 (21%) responded (median age 30 years; interquartile range, 28-33).</p><p><b>Results: </b>The mean quiz score was 52.0% (SD = 19.1). Of 299 (71%) respondents with student loan debt, 144 (48%) owed over $200,000.&nbsp; Many respondents had other debt, including 86 (21%) with credit card debt. Of 262 respondents with retirement savings, 142 (52%) had saved less than $25,000. Respondents' mean satisfaction with their current personal financial condition was 4.8 (SD = 2.5) and investment-risk tolerance was 5.3 (SD = 2.3). Indebted trainees reported lower satisfaction than trainees without debt (4.4 vs. 6.2, F (1,419) = 41.57, p &lt; .001).&nbsp;&nbsp; Knowledge was moderately correlated with investment-risk tolerance (r=0.41, p &lt; .001), and weakly correlated with satisfaction with financial status (r=0.23, p &lt; .001).</p><p><b>Conclusions: </b>Residents and fellows had low financial literacy and investment-risk tolerance, high debt, and deficits in their financial preparedness.&nbsp; Adding personal financial education to the medical education curriculum would benefit trainees.&nbsp; Providing education in areas such as budgeting, estate planning, investment strategies, and retirement planning early in training can offer significant long-term benefits.</p>