Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Outcomes from a Resident Personal Finance Curriculum Pilot

Efforts have been made to improve the financial knowledge and wellbeing of residents; however, interventions to date are limited in scope, scalability, and evidence of impact. The authors address this education gap and describe the development, pilot implementation, and outcomes of a resident personal finance curriculum designed for ease of use. The authors describe a personal finance curriculum for residents that focuses on five topics: education debt, long-term disability insurance, life insurance, investing, and financial advisors. The curriculum consists of written materials hosted on a course website, interactive webinars, and learner assessments. The curriculum was piloted in an emergency medicine residency program from February to May 2018. Twenty (20/49, 41%) residents completed the pilot course. Most residents agreed or strongly agreed that the content was relevant (20/20, 100%) and clearly presented (19/20, 95%), and that they would recommend the curriculum to other residents (20/20, 100%). Performance on the knowledge assessment improved 21% after the intervention (pre-test: 57%, post-test: 78%; P < .001). Most residents also reported behavioral changes (17/20, 85%) with non-exclusive categories of behavioral changes including setting new financial goals (12/20, 60%), taking new action toward financial planning (11/20, 55%), and changing financial habits (6/20, 30%). The authors are implementing the curriculum at additional programs, continuing to refine and collect validity evidence for the knowledge assessment, and developing long-term outcome measures including assessment of goal achievement, retention of financial knowledge, and maintenance of effective financial habits.