Why Residency Feels Financially Impossible Today | "Back in My Day", Part 2 | Cut & Tell

Residents today earn roughly the same inflation-adjusted salary as residents did decades ago. So why does training feel so much more financially difficult?In this episode of Cut & Tell, plastic surgery resident Dr. Liz Malphrus explores the economic realities facing modern trainees—from exploding medical school debt and rising housing costs to childcare expenses, delayed financial independence, and the growing gap between resident compensation and the true cost of becoming a physician.This is the second installment in the "Back in My Day" series, examining how residency has changed over time. Rather than debating which generation had it harder, Dr. Malphrus argues that the conditions surrounding medical training have fundamentally changed—and that understanding those changes is essential if we want to improve graduate medical education.Topics discussed:Resident salaries then vs. nowMedical school debt and rising education costsGME funding and resident compensationHousing, childcare, and cost-of-living pressuresWhy many residents struggle financially despite being physiciansThe changing demographics of residency trainingSingle-parent households and residencyWhy "back in my day" misses the bigger pictureMoving beyond the suffering Olympics in medicineCut & Tell explores the realities of surgical training, medicine, and the systems shaping physician life today.Subscribe for new episodes and visit the Hippocratic Collective for more conversations about the future of medicine.