Health Professional Financial Planning Workshop: An Interprofessional Event to Expand Student Financial Literacy
by Hope E. Schier, 2024 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Taylor J. Lueder, 2024 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Molly A. O’Connell, 2024 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Mara N. Gosch, 2025 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Nora Pecha, 2025 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, Madeline R. Szubert, 2025 Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate, James H. Ford II, PhD, FACHE, LFHIMSS
Background: Create an innovative program to support economic success post-graduation for interprofessional health students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The workshop was designed by members of Phi Lambda Sigma and operated by student volunteers with support from faculty advisors and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (CIPE).
Methods: Eligible participants were current health professional program students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students participated in a 4-hour workshop consisting of a keynote address, their choice of 3 out of 6 breakout session topics, and a budgeting simulation. Participants rated their knowledge and confidence related to various financial planning skills before and after attending the workshop.
Results: Over 65% of respondents were pharmacy (PharmD) students. Before the workshop began, 56 of 61 pre-survey respondents (91.8%) had not attended a financial planning workshop. Both knowledge and confidence in all 6 breakout session topics significantly increased after attending the financial planning workshop (p-values ≤ 0.0001). Participants also expressed interest in having longer breakout sessions to dive deeper into subtopics of the respective breakout sessions to allow more time for specific and individualized questions.
Conclusion: Students demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge and confidence following participation in the workshop. Greater emphasis on financial literacy is warranted for health professional students. The success of the Health Professional Financial Planning Workshop is not the result of one workshop element, but it is the combination of building foundational knowledge, applying concepts through active learning, and collaborating interprofessionally on a mutually important topic.
Keywords: Literacy, Problem-Based Learning, Finances, Wisconsin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Volunteers, Pharmacy, Students, Faculty
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2024 March/April Table of Contents
Background: Create an innovative program to support economic success post-graduation for interprofessional health students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The workshop was designed by members of Phi Lambda Sigma and operated by student volunteers with support from faculty advisors and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (CIPE).
Methods: Eligible participants were current health professional program students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students participated in a 4-hour workshop consisting of a keynote address, their choice of 3 out of 6 breakout session topics, and a budgeting simulation. Participants rated their knowledge and confidence related to various financial planning skills before and after attending the workshop.
Results: Over 65% of respondents were pharmacy (PharmD) students. Before the workshop began, 56 of 61 pre-survey respondents (91.8%) had not attended a financial planning workshop. Both knowledge and confidence in all 6 breakout session topics significantly increased after attending the financial planning workshop (p-values ≤ 0.0001). Participants also expressed interest in having longer breakout sessions to dive deeper into subtopics of the respective breakout sessions to allow more time for specific and individualized questions.
Conclusion: Students demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge and confidence following participation in the workshop. Greater emphasis on financial literacy is warranted for health professional students. The success of the Health Professional Financial Planning Workshop is not the result of one workshop element, but it is the combination of building foundational knowledge, applying concepts through active learning, and collaborating interprofessionally on a mutually important topic.
Keywords: Literacy, Problem-Based Learning, Finances, Wisconsin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Volunteers, Pharmacy, Students, Faculty
Download PDF
2024 March/April Table of Contents