By Dr. Jim Dahle, WCI FounderWe just lately requested you to nominate your favourite physician who’s educating colleagues and trainees on monetary issues for The White Coat Investor Monetary Educator of the 12 months Award. Whereas the winner will get a pleasant certificates and CV entry for this, additionally they get a cool $1,000 verify to blow on no matter they need. That is the seventh yr we have carried out this award, and previous winners embrace:
When you may be nominated yearly for this award, you possibly can solely win it as soon as. Winners should be training docs, and so they cannot be monetary advisors, for-profit monetary bloggers, or podcasters.
Largely, these docs are giving formal and casual lectures to friends and trainees, growing curriculums, publishing papers, and working little private finance ministries to assist physicians and related high-income professionals turn out to be extra financially literate and disciplined. We wish to encourage this conduct, so along with this award, we even provide slides that can assist you give displays:
The slides had been all up to date this yr. Be at liberty to make use of them, personalize them, and cross them round to anybody you assume may benefit from them.
We acquired 85 nominations this yr, together with 75 who totally accomplished the appliance with an in depth description of WHY their nominee ought to win. These nominations had been for 20 totally different medical doctors. The nominees included:
- Andrew Pirotte
- Casey Campbell
- Craig Griebel
- Daniel Farkas
- Frank Hwang
- Abhinav Markus
- Dave Berman
- Gayle Galletta
- Gregory Avey
- Josh Day by day
- Karambir Khangoora
- Thomas Liu
- Viraj Desi
- Viraj Modi
- Esteban Davila
- Keegan Tupchong
- Mark Moubarek
- Matthew Lipton
- Naomi Ambalu
- Patrick Pirotte
Congratulations to all the nominees (a number of of whom have been nominated for a number of years). Thanks for what you might be doing to your colleagues and trainees.
Honorable Mentions
Three medical doctors, particularly, stood out this yr—each within the sheer variety of nominations and in what they’ve been doing. We would like to say two of them as honorable mentions (sorry, no prize for that), after which we’ll let you know about this yr’s award winner.
Craig Griebel
Craig was nominated 13 occasions this yr, and for good motive.
“For many years, Dr. Griebel has been a cornerstone of our residency in lots of areas of schooling, however his dedication to the well-being and future success of our residents by way of monetary schooling goes above and past. Not solely has his spirit of mentorship been a relentless useful resource for our residents, however it has prolonged to medical college students and college, as nicely. Dr. Griebel has constantly demonstrated an unwavering dedication to equipping our residents with the monetary literacy typically ignored in medical coaching. For years, he has voluntarily hosted common monetary schooling lectures. These periods are thoughtfully ready and expertly delivered conferences that cowl a complete vary of matters which are so essential to the success of our residents’ monetary futures. From the fundamentals of saving for retirement, by way of funding navigating and understanding the right way to get hold of acceptable insurance coverage protection, Dr. Griebel covers all of it in his structured quarterly lecture collection. He empowers our residents to make knowledgeable selections that can serve them nicely all through their careers and past. Whereas his upcoming retirement within the subsequent two years marks the tip of an period, we imagine his enduring legacy, notably within the realm of monetary schooling, deserves this prestigious recognition.”
Gayle Galletta
As soon as extra, we had a really shut competitors, and all of us on the committee who had been selecting a winner felt this award might have gone to both Gayle or our eventual winner. Gayle had 14 nominations detailing the intensive work she has carried out to advertise monetary literacy, together with:
- Lectures to the UMass EM residency
- Buying WCI books for EM interns
- Discovering WCI Champions in MS1 lessons to distribute the WCI Scholar Information to their friends
- Two-time WCICON speaker
- WCI Scholarship essay choose for seven years working
- Founding father of the UMass EM Monetary Literacy Curiosity Group
- Speaker at Massachusetts ACEP Assembly
- Speaker at Worcester District Medical Society Medical Scholar Workshop on Funds
- Extra lectures to different residency applications
Our Winner, Viraj Modi
Viraj Modi
Viraj was nominated an astounding 34 occasions this yr, probably the most that somebody has ever been nominated for this award and virtually half of the nominations we acquired general. He has clearly had a long-standing formal and casual monetary schooling program for medical college students, residents, and his colleagues. Nominees cited his formalized and repeated lecture collection for medical college students transitioning to residency and residents transitioning to attendings.
“As a pacesetter in curriculum growth on the medical faculty, Dr. Modi has performed a pivotal position in shaping monetary literacy applications for residents and medical college students. His ongoing efforts to bridge the hole between medication and monetary schooling make him a really deserving candidate for this award.”
And one other remark:
“On the medical faculty stage, his ‘Transition to Residency’ and monetary schooling course for fourth-year medical college students has turn out to be extremely common. He additionally dedicates time outdoors of his medical obligations to coach residents and younger attendings on sensible monetary methods.”
Dozens of nominees cited private experiences with Dr. Modi and his affect on them to spice up their very own monetary data and self-discipline. His work has clearly been carried out over a few years and over a large swath of scholars, trainees, and colleagues. When we have now 34 nominations, simply selecting the successful nominator (who will get a free WCI on-line course) isn’t any small activity. Nonetheless, we predict the perfect nomination got here from Dr. Matthew Martin.
“It’s with nice enthusiasm that I write in help of Dr. Viraj Modi, DO, FACP, for the Monetary Educator Award. Dr. Modi serves as an attending doctor within the Division of Normal, Geriatric, and Hospital Medication on the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Heart and was just lately promoted to Medical Affiliate Professor of Medication. An achievement that displays each his medical excellence and his deep dedication to mentorship and schooling.
Monetary wellness is an space that always receives little consideration in medical coaching, particularly throughout the chaotic early days of residency. I can bear in mind vividly how overwhelming it felt on the very begin, even earlier than our first official day on the job! I felt so unprepared to deal with the advantages that got here with employment akin to medical health insurance plans, the choices of retirement accounts and plans, in addition to budgeting and making monetary selections and not using a sturdy basis. Luckily, I had the chance to work with Dr. Modi in each the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Dr. Modi took trip of his busy schedule to verify in with myself and plenty of of my colleagues to ask if we had any questions on our retirement accounts or investing generally. It was clear that he understood how new and intimidating this course of might be for many people. He patiently shared his personal insights, inspired us to start out small, and offered sensible recommendation on the right way to make investments and diversify safely—to grasp the dangers and optimize progress over time. Dr. Modi aimed not simply to coach, however to encourage us to form our personal paths towards monetary freedom and long-term safety.
What makes Dr. Modi’s mentorship so impactful is that it feels private. He creates an surroundings the place asking “easy” questions is inspired, and he genuinely desires his trainees to really feel empowered; not simply as physicians, however as financially literate adults ready for the longer term. His constant efforts have had a tangible affect on the way in which [me] and plenty of of my colleagues method private finance, and people classes will stick with us lengthy after coaching.
Dr. Modi exemplifies the spirit of the Monetary Educator Award, and I can consider no yet one more deserving of this recognition. His dedication to monetary schooling has not solely formed my very own method to non-public finance, however has additionally fostered a tradition of empowerment and mentorship inside our establishment. I carry his classes with me and really feel impressed to pay it ahead; to share data, encourage openness, and assist others really feel assured of their monetary selections, simply as he did for me.
Sincerely,
Matthew J Martin, DO, MS
PGY3 Inner Medication Resident
Renaissance College of Medication at Stony Brook College”
Congratulations to Dr. Modi for being named the 2025 WCI Monetary Educator of the 12 months and to Dr. Martin for nominating him!
What do you assume? What is going to you do within the subsequent yr to assist your colleagues and trainees turn out to be extra financially literate and disciplined?
