Why Is Financial Wellness Crucial for Physicians and Health Care Professionals?

As a physician and health professional, helping people in need is among the greatest honors and privileges in the world.

In the complex world of Oncology, physicians and health care professionals have the opportunity and privilege to enormously contribute to patient wellbeing at a time of significant personal and family health crisis.

In addition, many physicians and health care professionals have academic profiles that significantly contribute to education, research, administration, and leadership. For instance, currently, we have over 90,000 physicians in Canada serving almost 40 million Canadians. The growing number of applicants to our medical schools and ever-increasing competitive entry are a testament to the amazing promise and prospects of a medical career. The same is true of other health careers.

Furthermore, an engaged and healthy workforce is essential to meet the ever-increasing complexity of our patients and to provide excellent care. This is especially true in the field of Oncology with high acuity and complexity of care, ever-changing standards of care, novel therapies, academia, management of patient morbidity and mortality, and long work hours.

However, global and Canadian data suggest that over fifty percent of physicians, irrespective of the stage of their career or specialty, are either burnt out or burning out. Data is similar for other healthcare professionals. For instance, studies on nursing colleagues have reported over 90% rate of burnout. Professional well-being is at the forefront of our healthcare challenges today, as is the well-being of all health professionals.

Financial awareness and well-being are integral parts of personal and professional wellness. This is particularly relevant to physicians and health care professionals, as they have very long years of training (often more than a decade).

Many physicians, for instance, carry multiple six-figure debts and experience delayed professional earnings due to their increasing age of entry at medical school and training years. Many specialties have demanding hours of work and responsibilities throughout their professional careers, making professional wellness very much needed for stable career longevity.

Excellent financial awareness and planning are key. This is also true of many other career paths and applies widely to most professionals. However, data suggest that many physicians and professionals are often not well-versed in financial literacy. Financial decisions are often emotional and later justified!

Key financial decisions can truly impact one’s life and its many aspects, both in the short and long term. We believe it is essential to have authentic, evidence-based, and unbiased advice starting from the early stages of training. The ever-increasing complexity of the financial world further adds to each medical professional’s challenges.

In our thorough research, we identified a crying need for a simple, evidence-based, easy-to-read, and immediately applicable resource for physicians and professionals. One that they could easily read, assimilate, and apply in their busy lives.

This educational resource is our attempt to bridge that gap. We thoroughly reviewed literature, plus we interviewed several physician wellness advocates and financial experts to create this resource. Furthermore, we have presented the data from the lens of an early-career trainee (Hayley) to add more clarity and perspective.

Hayley Gates

We are truly grateful for the support we have received for this book. The book has already been a number 1 bestseller in 4 categories and a top new release in 2 categories. The book is available on Amazon worldwide at a nominal cost.

As an ardent advocate of physician and professional wellness as well as of financial mastery, I truly believe this handbook can serve as a catalyst in your own personal financial journey and will assist you in enhancing your financial awareness.

Hayley Gates and Ketan Kulkarni

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