Tackling Financial Anxiety as a Future Doctor
Arguably the most talked about barrier of going into medicine is the financial burden going into the field presents. In the rising culture of cultivating a sustainable work life balance, especially post pandemic, the field of medicine can be seen as the enemy of financial freedom and anxiety. Thousands of student loans, low pay in early years of training (and no payment at all in medical school), and too many work hours for little time to seemingly enjoy life are all reasons that people turn away from becoming a physician. And these are all valid reasons. The medical education system is not cheap, and working back all the money taken can seem daunting. Especially with my friends or other people around me who have taken the step of having a full time job while I have still yet to have one solid income, I know that I have an added layer of financial responsibility to work through.
How does one deal with the want to pursue a field they are passionate about but are potentially limited by the financial constraints of being a doctor or any other career that issues similar anxieties? And for a lot of people who want to go into medicine are not taught the ways to efficiently budget, plan for paying back student loans, or learning how to negotiate higher salaries. Especially in a field that is so altruistic and demanding at its core can make necessary advances like asking for a raise, proper time off, and benefits seem selfish and lazy. There are many financial anxieties to being a doctor or anyone in a position where they find career fulfillment in working in a field that is notorious for the lack of proper pay or work boundaries. Or even those who are their own bosses (i.e. small businesses), you feel the creep of financial anxieties because your work is not only tied to your livelihood but your identity and self concept.
I have yet to figure out all the answers of tackling the financial anxieties of being a future doctor. But there are a couple things that I have learned or changed about my financial habits that I believe will help me throughout my medical journey. These tips are from my experiences, and therefore may not be completely relatable to you, but have shown me some guidance in a culture where talking about finances is looked down upon.
Stop avoiding
I was notorious for this throughout my entire college career (and probably entire life). Whatever money came in, I spent, without thinking of how much or how little. I assumed that as long as I stayed above the number zero in my account, everything was fine. I embraced the persona of the girl who laughed at how broke she was (even though I was far from it, as someone who was privileged enough to be financially supported for all of my life). I became stressed whenever I heard someone talking about their credit score, so I just tuned them out. But the avoidance of understanding your relationship with money and managing it only fuels your financial anxieties even more. As a physician, being smart about where your money goes and increasing wealth so that you can enjoy your actual job of taking care of patients is important to both your patients and you. I turned to podcasts, YouTube, and books to see what I could learn. Money with Katie and The Financial Diet are two I really enjoy - they teach everything from properly budgeting to navigating finances as a first gen student.
Start talking
Weaving financial conversations into your daily life is important to normalize and potentially alleviate financial stress. Granted, always talking about your budget with your friends when all they’ve asked you is how you are doing isn’t the best way to spend your time. But social circles where financial transparency is looked down upon or even kept secret can be harmful. Especially in the medical field, where those working in positions for clinical and research experiences are severely underpaid (or not paid at all), it’s important to collectively start talking about how we deserve more compensation or benefits for our time. At one of my clinical experiences, I was asked how much I thought I should be paid for this job. Using only the information I had known from quick Google searches before, I had said a number that they agreed upon. It wasn’t until I was training the next person who would be taking my position that I realized that I could have asked for more. Especially during the pandemic where shifts would be sporadic due to cases, a few extra dollars could’ve be a dramatic difference. I’m not saying that I was in a situation where it was life or death for me, but to someone it may very well be.
The bottom line…
We all have different relationships and journeys with money. Whether or not we have a job because it is our “life’s passion” or simply because it is a source of income, financial anxieties are real. But it’s worth addressing head on, not only because you find yourself more capable and confident but also starts to collectively address past financial struggles certain fields have had in the past. Especially in the physician field, where years of paying back student loans puts burden on physicians shoulders that affects the way they practice (and any other confounding factors), tackling financial health is essential. For a field that requires so much dedication and commitment, it’s OK for us to want to reap rewards.
