VIRMP Choosing Internships

[cml156]

I am looking for some advice from anyone willing to help! I am applying for a SA Rotating this next cycle and already started looking at places so I can have an idea of where I am interested prior to 4th year clinics. I'm interested in Anesthesiology post internship and have a list of maybe 40 places that would have boarded anesthesiologists on staff while I am there. On this list I made note of the average cost of living according to VIRMP and am comparing it to the salaries and based on the numbers alone it knocks out maybe 95% of the locations I am looking at. I know this isn't a new topic and gets talked about a lot but how should I approach looking at locations from a financial point of view. I won't have any outside help from family and will be going solely off what salary is offered from where ever I match. I would hate for money to deter me from a location if all the other attributes are great about the school/practice. I just don't know how to gauge a future cost of living if I don't live there currently and If I will be able to make it there off what I'm given.

Some additional background: I will be traveling/living with my partner who is still in school online and our 2 dogs. We have lived very frugally in the past and are ready to do so again in order to make ends meet.

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[JaynaAli]

Google housing and see how that compares to the salary after taxes. Contact programs and ask to be put in contact with current and former interns and ask them what their living expenses are compared to salary. Outright ask the program contacts if they think it’s a livable wage.

For many interns, they do need outside help whether that is a spouse, parents, or credit. It’s unfortunate and shouldn’t happen to someone with a progessional degree, but though there have been improvements, with cost of living costs skyrocketing it definitely is something you have to factor in. I was in intern in 2015-2016. My program paid 28k, and after taxes my take home pay was 1800/mo. My rent alone was $1100 before any bills or food. Thankfully my parents paid for my vehicle and associated expenses and I was still young enough to be on their insurance, or it wouldn’t have been possible to go there with that salary in such a high COL area like Colorado. If they hadn’t helped, I wouldn’t have been able to rank that place. Among my internmates, two had spouses who worked and covered a lot of the living expenses, and one had purposefully maxed out their vet school loans fourth year despite not needing that much in order to have a cash cushion. In an ideal world, money wouldn’t have to be a factor, but you have to afford to live. Some places may let you pick up extra shifts for extra pay, but not all of them do. My residency location had better pay and lower COL so it was more doable on my own.