Why is Medical School Expensive?
Understanding the cost of medical education, budgeting strategies, and accessing financial support at uOttawa.
View full lecture →The mLIFE curriculum equips medical students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to achieve financial independence, lead within the healthcare system, and drive meaningful innovation.
Explore the Journey ↓mLIFE is the financial literacy and practice management curriculum for medical students at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. It runs across all four years of the MD program, pairing one Personal Finance lecture with one Practice Management lecture each year, and adds case-based learning plus a searchable resource hub.
mLIFE is designed around the core values of the University of Ottawa's MD program: generalism, system-based thinking, family medicine, integration, and social accountability.
Broad-based training that prepares well-rounded physicians
Understanding healthcare within larger systems
Strong foundation in primary care and community health
Connecting clinical, financial, and personal development
Serving communities with responsible, ethical practice
Every physician travels the same road, through five stages: medical student, resident, early career physician, established physician, and retirement. mLIFE prepares you for each stage before you get there.
Building the foundation. Understanding debt, budgeting on limited income, and developing financial literacy early.
First real income, but still training. Balancing loan repayment with living expenses, insurance needs, and early career planning.
Income jumps but so do responsibilities. Practice setup, incorporation decisions, aggressive debt payoff, and beginning to invest.
Peak earning years. Optimizing tax strategy, building wealth, real estate decisions, and planning for the future.
Transition planning, pension and RRSP withdrawals, estate considerations, and enjoying the financial independence you built.
Each year combines Personal Finance with Practice Management, building your competency over time. Select a year below to see both of its lectures.
Understanding the cost of medical education, budgeting strategies, and accessing financial support at uOttawa.
View full lecture →Why every physician needs a plan, what goes into one, and how to build your first one as a student.
View full lecture →Key terms, savings vehicles (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA), debt strategies, and building a personal financial strategy.
View full lecture →How physicians are paid in Canada, billing models, and the career paths open to you after training.
View full lecture →Accountants, financial planners, lawyers, insurance brokers: understanding who helps you manage your money.
View full lecture →Building something new in medicine: startups, intellectual property, and the business side of innovation.
View full lecture →Credit management, loan forgiveness programs, ROI of medical education, and values-based financial decisions.
View full lecture →Solo vs. group practice, compensation models, overhead structures, and the business of medicine.
View full lecture →Short answers to what students ask most about the curriculum.
mLIFE is the financial literacy and practice management curriculum for medical students at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine. It equips medical students with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to achieve financial independence, lead within the healthcare system, and drive meaningful innovation.
Each year of the MD program combines one Personal Finance lecture with one Practice Management lecture. Year 1 covers why medical school is expensive and what a financial plan is. Year 2 covers financial literacy and physician remuneration. Year 3 covers your financial team and medical innovation. Year 4 covers debt repayment and setting up a practice.
Through lectures, case-based learning, and a resource hub. Every lecture lists its learning objectives and comes with a recording, slides, and links to related resources. Four interactive cases add guided discussion questions and expert insights, and the Resource Hub holds 21 tools, guides, templates, and support directories. Browse the Resource Hub
Year 1 is published, with both lectures and their full learning objectives. Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and the online-only lectures are listed as coming soon on the Core Curriculum page. See the Core Curriculum
It is an interactive, case-based educational experience designed to provide medical students with practical exposure to financial counselling and debt management strategies through realistic scenarios. It carries 11 learning objectives and is aligned with CACMS Requirements 12.1-1, 12.1-2, and 12.1-3. Open the case library
Yes. The FR button in the navigation switches the whole site between English and French. The choice is saved and carries across pages.
Everything you need, organized into four key areas.
All lectures organized by year with learning objectives, videos, slides, and resources.
Interactive financial scenarios with guided decision-making and expert insights.
Budget tools, investment guides, practice management checklists, and student supports.