More than 600 doctors currently in residency and fellowship programs in the US shared their views on compensation, workload, student loan debt, and more.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Panacea Financial, the financial technology company dedicated to providing world class financial services to doctors and doctors’ practices, today released a 30 page report of original research on doctors’ experience in residency and fellowship in the United States.
The report is the result of more than 600 questionnaires submitted by current residents and fellows across all years of their training. Example findings include:
- Based on responses, over two-thirds of respondents said they would choose medicine as a career again. 14% said they would not, and 18% were unsure.
- Residents earned an average of $65,395 per year. Fellows earned an average of $78,501 annually.
- 36% of surveyed residents and fellows took on extra work outside of their training. Trainees over 40 took on extra work more often than younger trainees.
- 77% of survey respondents reported having student loan debt. 64% of respondents reported having non-student debt.
- Over half of respondents (54%) said their financial stress is at an 8 out of 10 or higher (10 being very stressed).
- 78% of respondents ranked their overall satisfaction with their training program at a 7 out of 10 or higher (10 being very satisfied).
- 99% of surveyed residents and fellows worked over 40 hours per week, the standard workweek. 19% worked over 80 hours per week.
Michael Jerkins, MD, M.Ed, president and co-founder of Panacea Financial, stated, “Residency and fellowships are a core part of doctors’ training before being able to practice. However, my own experience, and now this report, clearly communicate that it is an onerous time both in terms of compensation and workload for residents and fellows. These numbers demonstrate the need for comprehensive change to the entire system.”
Panacea Financial sought to put together this report to shine a light on the experiences of doctors in residency and fellowship and provide real numbers regarding their work. The company plans to repeat the survey annually to measure sentiment over time.
The questionnaire was promoted via Panacea Financial’s email database, website, social media channels, and sent to program directors in the US. The survey ran from November 1, 2023 until January 15, 2024, and a drawing to win one of three $150 Amazon gift cards was offered as an incentive for filling out the questionnaire.
The full report can be accessed at https://staging.panaceafinancial.com/report.
About Panacea Financial
Panacea Financial, a Division of Primis (NASDAQ: FRST), focuses on providing world class financial services for dentists, physicians, and veterinarians through all stages of their training and practice. Panacea offers a full suite of banking and technology solutions specifically built for doctors, by doctors. Through the Panacea Financial Foundation, its non-profit arm, the Company is dedicated to expanding ethnic and racial diversity within the medical field, providing more than $200,000 in scholarships and grants to underrepresented minority medical students, residents, and fellows since 2021. For more information, visit PanaceaFinancial.com. Follow Panacea Financial on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
