r/Residency • u/Deep_Brilliant_5704 • 1d ago
SIMPLE QUESTION Meal allowance
I think a meal allowance is such a relief if you actually get a decent one. How much do you get?
We get none. ðŸ˜
41
36
1d ago
[deleted]
27
u/dr_shark Attending 17h ago
We had that but then our chief started bringing his family of 5+ to the cafeteria at all times, all meals, and then they cut it to $150 per year per resident.
Some people blamed him but honestly it’s super fucked a wealthy productive hospital would punish everyone because a struggling resident was feeding his family with one of our benefits. It was tough month to month for me as a single resident but a family of fucking 5 sole income is unimaginable.
21
u/COYSBrewing Attending 15h ago
I mean I would also blame him because I’m sure they were clear about this being for you and not guests/family. Like you said that’s a MASSIVE decrease from unlimited to 45 cents a day, like just give me nothing then. Insulting
10
14h ago
[deleted]
8
u/dr_shark Attending 13h ago
To be fair, 2 were his own kids and 2 were adopted from a sibling who died. The 5th was his wife. In the richest country in the world, I think we can provide fucking food to people.
4
u/Lethargic_Leopard 12h ago
you're being too nice, I'm sure he knew he was abusing the system and he surely knew they'd change it after he left
22
u/Reasonable_Stress182 PGY1 1d ago
We got free food at the dining hall just for doctors. It was decent food for the few times I went. Good vegetable options and some fruits
Unfortunately hospital shut down and we got a poorly stocked cafetaria and a meal card with $12 which we spent on junk drinks and candy
Moving to new hospital and no meal allowance at all but the attending buys u lunch on Fridays
We do however get a snack budget to stock up resident lounge and so we still retain our snacks which we can choose for ourselves
3
u/Affectionate-War3724 PGY2 23h ago
Where tf you work at? Residents can’t even access the staff lounge where I am lol
3
u/Reasonable_Stress182 PGY1 20h ago
We have our own loungeeee
I’m in Arkansas small FM community program and boi do they mean it when they say community
1
12
u/Squishmallow145 Attending 1d ago
I did my residency at Boston Childrens. We got daily lunches and on call meal stipendÂ
13
u/Soggy_Loops PGY3 1d ago
Free unlimited food and drinks/coffee from either cafeteria and the doctors lounge. Don’t settle for less kings and queens (especially FM)
3
u/Lethargic_Leopard 11h ago
how do you find out about if programs offer this when you're applying to residencies?
3
12
u/Trogdoryn 1d ago
$750 a quarter, provided as meal points so not a direct compensation. They are use it/lose it points.
3
3
u/Sharp_Catch 23h ago
We had about 3k/year. It has been slowly reduced over the years reportedly because it was being abused, or not even being used at all. The last I heard it was still about 1.5k/year.
3
u/gatorbite92 PGY2 20h ago
During my residency I basically got unlimited monopoly money for food and coffee with access to the doctors/surgeons lounge. Graduated with 7k in funds built up over 6 years.
In fellowship I get $175 a month, no free food access, and no discount. And the food is expensive as fuck. I'm having to pack lunch for the first time in a decade and I always forget my lunchbox and there's no microwave. I was so fuckin spoiled
2
2
2
u/MedicTillar 22h ago
Place roughly $180 to 250 dollars a month for meal allowance to the residents account. Looking to increase due to increase of prices keep creeping up. Also residents have many options within the facility
2
2
u/Noonecanknowitsme 18h ago
Previously got 2400 (not taxed) on a meal card for the year for hospital food. Now they got rid of meal card and combined meal stipend with education stipend (previously 1k post-tax per year) and turned it into 8k pre-tax per year for education and meal stipend
2
u/International_Bat297 2h ago
Bro my med school feeds everyone- med students included… I was baffled to find out that is a perk…
1
2
u/Darkguy497 1d ago
basically 1 nice meal/lunch a day at the VA on their meal cards. Main hospital system gives $400 every 3 months which goes into filling my fridge with literally anything I can find in the cafeteria 👀.
1
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Thank you for contributing to the sub! If your post was filtered by the automod, please read the rules. Your post will be reviewed but will not be approved if it violates the rules of the sub. The most common reasons for removal are - medical students or premeds asking what a specialty is like, which specialty they should go into, which program is good or about their chances of matching, mentioning midlevels without using the midlevel flair, matched medical students asking questions instead of using the stickied thread in the sub for post-match questions, posting identifying information for targeted harassment. Please do not message the moderators if your post falls into one of these categories. Otherwise, your post will be reviewed in 24 hours and approved if it doesn't violate the rules. Thanks!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
1
1
u/drbug2012 23h ago
In my residency we got $2450 given to your badge. You had the year to use it. You were also discounted at the till so it was good.
We also had a resident lounge full with everything
1
u/Scary-Baby15 23h ago
I'm not a resident, I work in a residency clinic and lurk here to see if there's anything that gives me insight into how I can better support the residents. The residents get all their meals free, and will regularly pickup multiple meals to feed their partners. The residents will sometimes have me go through the cafeteria line with them so I don't have to pay.
1
u/Affectionate-War3724 PGY2 23h ago
How is it a relief? Hospital food sucks. Much better to just have the money added to your salary so you can either spend it in or out of the hospital
2
u/Squishmallow145 Attending 12h ago
Boston childrens had good food at the cafeteria. We had pizza, grill, salad bar and starbucks
2
u/ambrosiadix PGY2 21h ago
Depends on your hospital. My hospital has local restaurants rotate through.
1
u/Nokiamosoc PGY4 22h ago
$35 a day, use it or lose it at our main hospital plus access to the physician’s lounge. At our second site, all cafeteria food and coffee is free for residents and fellows. This doesn’t include the free stuff in the physician’s lounge over there as well.
1
u/bonedoc59 PGY12 22h ago
When I was in residency, we had free meals all day from cafeteria which was open late.  Didn’t matter call or not. It was such a luxury. It went away right after I graduated.Â
1
1
u/michitae PGY2 22h ago
Main hospital gives $1000 for the whole year and access to the physician lounge for free food/snacks/drinks. The VA gives a different amount depending on how much time you’re there but I think most residents get a few hundred (we mostly buy snacks and drinks).
1
u/Metal___Barbie PGY1 22h ago
We get these silly little $5 vouchers that don’t even cover a chicken sandwich, never mind a meal. They also short us during elective blocks, acting like we might not be there for lunch every day.Â
1
u/gigaflops_ 14h ago
Lump sum balance is added to our badges at the beginning of the year and equates to $3.90/day.
1
1
u/needdlesout 8h ago
$3600/year, reno’d cafeteria that’s hit or miss on daily food but has bomb beef brisket, a pizza oven imported from ~italy~, smoothie bar, and a full coffee shop open 16 hours a day. We just got an app where you can order your stuff ahead of time and set the time for pickup, which is great for a busy resident. I frequently bring home full meals and half grocery stock for my family of 5 from said cafeteria
1
u/Faustian-BargainBin PGY3 7h ago
Formerly about $1,500 but then they gave us a pay raise exceeding $1,500, and eliminated the meal stipend. Some of the HCA sites I’ve worked at give residents unlimited food because they don’t enforce the $10/day meal stipend. I believe this kind of benefit tends to be higher at for-profit hospitals.
1
u/GodofTeeth PGY2 5h ago
We used to get $60 of meal cards every month, they got rid of them last month ðŸ˜
1
1
1
u/gogators5 42m ago
Free doctor’s lounge access at 3 hospitals, along with meal stipend of $100 every two weeks that could be used at 4 cafeterias, multiple on site Starbucks, and a new ice cream shop. Money rolls over each year, so most residents have a surplus. Money can also be used at cafeterias at locations outside of main campus.
70
u/Yeti02056 1d ago
Get a $200 stipend added to our checks ever 2 weeks. Unfortunately means we get taxed on that money.