Improving Personal Financial Literacy of Ontario Medical Students

Endorsed In: 
décembre, 2020
Paper Type: 
Position Paper

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Authors:

  • Ishita Aggarwal (Queen's University)
  • Kevin Karivelil (McMaster University)

Background: ​

Pursuing a medical education, especially in Ontario, is a costly endeavor. Furthermore, high tuition costs and debt have been shown to disproportionately affect trainees from lower-income and/or rural backgrounds and may have a negative impact on students’ academic performance and mental health. Ontario medical schools, however, devote minimal time to financial literacy. To remedy this gap,, we recommend that undergraduate medical education incorporate mandatory financial literacy training and teaching on billing and remuneration into their curricula, support the development of extracurricular activities in personal finance and debt relief strategies, and consider providing students with access to one-on-one meetings with either a hired financial advisor and/or faculty with financial expertise for financial advisement

Recommendations: 

  • That undergraduate medical education incorporate mandatory financial literacy training into their curricula
  • That undergraduate medical education incorporate teaching on billing and remuneration in clinical practice
  • That undergraduate medical education provide resources and support for development of extracurricular activities in personal finance and debt relief strategies
  • That medical schools consider providing students with access to one-on-one meetings with either a hired financial advisor and/or faculty with financial expertise for financial advisement