Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Pay off your medical school loans for free? Here’s how.

Robert A. Felberg, MD
Physician
June 27, 2017
Share
Tweet
Share

We are all panicked over student loan debt. The size of the loan can be worrisome — sometimes overwhelming. The average medical student debt is over $160,000, and it’s not unusual to owe $300,000 to $450,000! The compounded interest is growing every day and adding to your anxiety. Most early career physicians state the stress related to paying off these loans is their greatest emotional burden. Think about that — you are responsible for life and death decisions every day and what worries you the most is your next debt payment!

What if I told you that I could help you pay off your debt without any extra labor or sacrifice on your part? You’d tell me I’m crazy, but it can be done if you learn the proper skills.

First, let’s discuss the three ways that you can pay off your student loans:

1. You can scrimp, save and sacrifice for decades. This is the classic, time-honored method. It works, and keeping your discretionary spending under control is a great idea. It’s just not the most satisfying.

2. You can hope against hope that somehow the loans will be forgiven. But, we all know that 10 to 15 years from now that the American public is going to be up in arms demanding no loan forgiveness for physicians. Can you blame them? They see a heart surgeon earning $1.4 million annually and are outraged over debt forgiveness. Nearly every year, both parties in Congress have tried to limit high earner loan forgiveness. It’s highly likely that you will be stuck with unpaid loans, compounded interest, an unforgiving public, and a handful of broken promises from the government.

3. Finally, the single best way to pay off your debt — earn more income.

I know. I can hear your eyes rolling! Of course, I’d earn more money if could! But, hear me out. I work with early career physicians who are doing this on a daily basis. And with the proper training, it’s really not that difficult.

Here’s the secret: It’s all about negotiating your salary. The typical salary negotiation has a ZOPA or Zone of Potential Agreement between $20,000 and $50,000. That means the initial job offer is far less than what you could potentially earn, often to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Consistently, well-trained physician-negotiators can earn an average additional $30,000 annually. Some have even negotiated $50,000 to $80,000 higher than initial offer. I recently worked with a graduating resident physician who negotiated a guaranteed $150,000 extra compensation over three years. You will need to learn the right skill set to negotiate — a skill set that attorneys and business graduates formally learn, but is completely lacking for physicians.

Remember, that this final negotiated salary is the new base number that will be taken into account every year after that. So you’ll get a 3 percent raise on $230,000 rather than $200,000 ($6900 raise vs. $6000) with a compounding effect over your 35-year career equal to millions of dollars of potential earnings. As you can see, your first contract is your most important one. And, It’s also the one you are least prepared to negotiate.

Let’s return to paying off your student loans hassle-free. In this example, as a typical well-trained physician-negotiator, you successfully bargain for an additional $30,000 yearly. For simplicity sake, let’s assume you get no annual raises, although you’ll likely get 1 to 4 percent annually. That $30,000 should be about $20,000 post-tax dollars, or $1667 dollars/month. This “free” money, which you earned through negotiation and not actual labor, will easily cover your monthly debt service payment. In fact, you may even start interest-free early prepayment of principal!

Here’s the plan:

1. Learn physician negotiation skills. Physicians aren’t taught these skills in their educational process, and you are placed at a distinct disadvantage when you are lining up your new job. Of course, the complex negotiations required to obtain an additional twenty, thirty or fifty thousand dollars within the setting of a medical organizational framework and contract law requires a more intensive formal education process and training than your typical used car or flea market haggling. Fortunately, there are CME-designated courses designed for physicians to master these skills. You may also learn from non-physician designed conferences or through reading and self-study. Preferably, you’ll have the opportunity to hone your skills in several realistic practice scenarios before your actual contract negotiation. That makes the in-person seminars better in general for most physicians. You learn ACLS by didactic lectures and by several code scenarios simulations for the same reason.

2. Negotiate a great compensation package. I know it sounds scary, but it’s entirely feasible. With the right education and practice, you can become a great physician-negotiator!

3. Live off the initial offer and pay off your student loans “labor free” with your negotiated extra compensation.

ADVERTISEMENT

We’re all concerned about the huge burden that medical loan debt is placing on our early career physicians. Hopefully, meaningful help will come from the lending agencies and government, but real reform seems unlikely for decades. Fortunately, you don’t need to rely on others to get your debt under control. Learn the same negotiation and professional business skills as other graduate school attendees, and you can even the playing field and invest in your future success.

With the right training and skills, you can take control of your career, stop worrying about paying off your loans, be confident in your job search and succeed — really succeed!

Robert A. Felberg is a neurologist and president, Physician Advocates LLC.  He blogs at Medical Success Central.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

It's time to advocate for our patients to politicians

June 27, 2017 Kevin 1
…
Next

A doctor's place is in the exam room

June 27, 2017 Kevin 5
…

Tagged as: Primary Care, Specialist

Post navigation

< Previous Post
It's time to advocate for our patients to politicians
Next Post >
A doctor's place is in the exam room

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Robert A. Felberg, MD

  • Physician burnout is the inevitable result of a failed medical education system

    Robert A. Felberg, MD

Related Posts

  • End medical school grades

    Adam Lieber
  • The medical school personal statement struggle

    Sheindel Ifrah
  • Why medical school is like playing defense

    Jamie Katuna
  • Why this physician teaches health policy in medical school

    Kenneth Lin, MD
  • The unintended consequences of free medical school

    Anonymous
  • A meditation in medical school

    Orly Farber

More in Physician

  • Removing vaccine advisers could jeopardize lives

    J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD
  • Why would any physician believe that the practice of medicine will become less abusive for them in the future?

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • The hidden war on doctors: Understanding administrative violence

    Maryna Mammoliti, MD
  • How doctors can stop frivolous lawsuits before they start

    Howard Smith, MD
  • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

    Neil Baum, MD
  • When a doctor becomes the narrator of a patient’s final chapter

    Ryan McCarthy, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • How proposed NIH budget cuts could derail Alzheimer’s research

      Tamer Hage, Tejas Sekhar, and Swapna Vaja | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

      Sandra Johnson | Tech
    • How proposed NIH budget cuts could derail Alzheimer’s research

      Tamer Hage, Tejas Sekhar, and Swapna Vaja | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Pay off your medical school loans for free? Here’s how.
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...