Resident physicians may not have to walk far from their car to get into the hospital, but when it comes to running the race toward long-term financial security, their benefits often lag behind those afforded to other physicians employed at their institutions.
A 2024 study found that residents are far more likely to get access to parking and discounted gym memberships than long-term financial benefits such as retirement contributions or tuition support. The analysis, published in the Journal of Surgical Education, reviewed benefits at 75 institutions across medicine, surgery and pediatrics.
Frequent benefits for residents
Researchers found that health, dental and vision coverage were nearly universal for both residents and other full-time employees. In general, the benefits that were frequently given to residents were smaller, qualify-of-life perks.
The benefits most commonly provided to residents included:
- Paid maternity leave—offered at 100% of residency programs in the study.
- Paid paternity leave—98.7%.
- Long-term disability insurance—90.1%.
- Free or discounted parking—85.3%.
- A free or discounted gym membership—74.7%.
For residents, smaller day-to-day perks can make a difference in the moment, according to Liz Southworth, MD. Now a second-year fellow in urogynecology, Dr. Southworth touted holiday pay—offered to residents at just two of the 75 programs in the study—as a benefit that made a difference during her years as an ob-gyn resident.
“We had a cellphone stipend and subsidized parking. Just having access to good parking garage lots—even if it wasn’t completely covered—made a big difference day to day,” Dr. Southworth said.
“If you were working on a holiday, you were paid an additional $15–$25 per hour. It wasn’t huge, but it made you feel recognized for working during that time.”
What residents don’t get
While immediate benefits are nearly universal, residents are far less likely to receive benefit packages that help build long-term financial security. Roughly one-quarter of the programs in the study offered retirement contributions to residents. Though full-time employees received flexible spending accounts at 94% of the 75 institutions analyzed in the study, residents were offered them in only 63% of cases.
A long-time AMA member who is active in the AMA Resident and Fellow Section, Dr. Southworth said the lack of retirement savings contributions has affected her ability to save for the long haul.
“My husband's not in medicine, and so he's been in the workforce for over 10 years now, has an amazing retirement little nest egg already built up, and I’ve got nothing,” she said. “That is a huge area of work that needs to be done, helping us become more financially secure earlier in our careers.”
Looking at other employment-benefit offerings, relocation resources, health savings accounts and supplemented child care were uncommon for both full-time employed physicians and residents.
As a new mother who is still in her physician training, the need for child care stipends and access to on-site facilities is taking on extra importance for Dr. Southworth.
“On-site child care or subsidies would make a huge difference,” she said. “As residents, we’re often coming in with families, and 24-hour shifts don’t align with most day care options.”
The AMA has policy encouraging the provision of on-site or subsidized child care for medical students, residents and fellows that recognizes “the fiscal challenges faced by medical schools and graduate medical education institutions” that make it hard to do so.
The way forward
The study authors advocated more transparency on benefits available to residents. They also highlighted that an increase in the prevalence of resident unions has the potential to improve resident benefits and working conditions.
The AMA supports “adequate compensation and benefits that provide for resident well-being and health” through its Residents and Fellows' Bill of Rights. Also, this AMA issue brief offers information on collective bargaining for physicians and physicians-in-training (PDF).
Dr. Southworth said that a unified physician voice is likely to help improve the realities on the ground for residents.
“We could all become more educated about what resident contracts look like and what benefits do and don’t exist,” she said. “The nature of the Match is that for many residents there isn’t a lot of room to negotiate on a local level.
“Where I think we can really make a change is on a national level through advocacy or policy efforts. There’s an opportunity to push for improvements—and we’re doing that work” through the AMA Resident and Fellow Section, she said.
AMA members can manage their finances and prepare for their futures in various ways with Laurel Road, an FDIC-insured digital banking platform. Laurel Road also offers a range of customized lending solutions to help physicians run and maintain their practice.
