Money Dumb: Survey Finds a Paucity of Organized Financial Education Afforded to Interventional Radiology Trainees

Purpose: To evaluate the financial preparedness among US interventional radiology (IR) trainees

Materials and Methods: A 27-question survey designed to evaluate financial knowledge and preparedness was distributed to Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) in-training members via the SIR SurveyMonkey account. Survey responses were collected from September 6 to September 20, 2017. A chance to win one of 10 $50 Amazon.com gift cards was offered to incentivize survey participation.

Results: A total of 433 respondents participated in the survey, 358 (82.7%) male, 74 (17.1%) female, and 1 (0.2%) other. At the time of survey distribution, 51 (12%) were current IR fellows; 219 (50%) were residents (96 diagnostic radiology, 59 upcoming IR fellows, 64 DR/IR), and 163 (38%) were medical students. Age of participants varied with the majority (n = 404; 93%) younger than 36 years of age and 7% (n = 29) 36 years of age and older. The top three financial concerns of respondents are paying off student loans, having enough money to retire, and asset protection. Similarly, the top three topics that respondents want to learn about are having enough money to retire, paying off student loans, and asset protection. Twenty-seven percent feel poorly informed about personal finance. The most commonly incurred debts are student loans (77%), car loans (24%), and credit card debt (24%). The most common student loan debt level is more than $250,000 (28%). Also, 28% of respondents did not have any investments. Nearly half (44%) have not received any organized financial education in training. Of those who did, the most common forms are lectures presented by their own faculty (39%) and local industry representatives (31%). Fewer than 10% received education from visiting professors, which was also the most desired form of financial education. Nearly two thirds of respondents revealed their sources of financial advice were from friends and family and online resources.

Conclusions: Financial education appears lacking in IR training, and the most desired form of education (visiting professor) is also the least available. Although the current situation appears disadvantageous, this study has at the very least demonstrated the lack of formalized financial education and has illuminated a pathway for improvement. Efforts aimed at improving trainee financial education by providing focused webinars from financial experts are currently under development.