The following salary and benefits are set out in the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU and Cambridge Health Alliance.
Training Year Current Salary (7/1/23)
PGY 1 $68,811
PGY 2 $71,564
PGY 3 $74,360
PGY 4 $78,545
PGY 5 $82,774
PGY 6 $87,661
PGY 7 $91,529
Orientation Pay: All incoming House Officers are required to attend Orientation prior to July 1 of each year and shall be compensated at the appropriate PGY level, as set out in Section 1 of this article.
House Officers are paid $1,900 annually, dental House Officers are paid $2,050 annually, and fellows are paid $2,200 annually. (For AY21 a one-time additional $300 is available.)
This stipend may be used to defray the costs of conferences, textbooks, journals, board fees, necessary computer hardware, or other such items as approved by the appropriate Program Director. Any unused portion of the stipend may be accrued to subsequent year(s) of training.
Podiatry House Officers are paid $1,900 annually. In addition they will receive reimbursement up to $3,000 for cost of tuition, travel, lodging, and meals to attend the Foot and Ankle Arthroscopy Surgical Skills Course once during the 3 years of training.
CHA guaranties the payment of: (i) rent under the lease; and (ii) the cost of repair of any damages to the premises by the tenant up to $6,500 or an amount equal to two month’s rent, whichever is less.
Fully employer paid dental insurance covering 100% of the cost of most basic services. Spouses, children and domestic partners are all eligible to receive coverage at no cost to the house officer.
Fully employer paid optical benefit, covering the full cost of one yearly eye exam, and prescription glasses or contacts. Spouses, children and domestic partners are all eligible to receive coverage at no cost to the house officer.
Fully employer paid short and long term disability coverage.
Up to $1,000/year reimbursement for cost of USMLE Step III, NBPME Part III, or COMLEX Level 3 exam; up to $550 one-time reimbursement to Dental residents for Federal DEA registration.
For Medicine, $250/weeknight, $350/weekend day, $450 weekend/holiday overnight. For Family Medicine, $100/call to cover home call at CHA Everett Hospital. If required to come into hospital, Medicine rates apply. For Podiatry, $50/hour if called to serve as 1st assist in OR for non-foot/ankle surgery.
Taxi vouchers are provided to all House Officers who are required for any training or service purpose to travel between the hospital and the required offsite location. Vouchers are also available to House Officers who park at CHA, but are too fatigued to drive home safely after prolonged or off-hours shifts.
CHA pays the annual fee for House Officers to utilize Care.com, a backup in-home childcare service. House officers pay only the hourly provider rate. Check out http://chacir.care.com/ for more information.
House Officers are provided with a refrigerator stocked with food of their choice in the on-call room of CHA Cambridge Hospital for on-call dinners and breakfasts.
All CIR members are eligible to receive discounted membership to the Boston Sports Clubs. Members will receive a 40% reduction in both monthly and joining fees. Other members-only benefits include: Brooks Brothers, DRB Student Loan, Kaplan Medical, ID Theft Solutions, InsMed, Medelita, Post-Residency Contract Review, and Wolters Kluwer. For more info, click here.
CHA Provides CIR with $45,000 per year for the CIR Patient Care Fund. This fund, run by a committee of House Officers, provides grants for items and services that will improve patient care but are not funded in the standard hospital budget.
All CHA interns, residents and fellows are represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR) and are covered by the CIR union contract and negotiated benefits outlined above. Members of CIR pay dues in the amount of 1.5% of their gross salary. These dues are determined annually by the full CIR membership and thus may increase or decrease. House officers who choose not to be members are required by state law to contribute an “agency fee” (also deducted weekly), which is calculated based on the cost of negotiating and enforcing their contract. These dues are tax deductible.
We understand that living in the greater Boston area is expensive … Cambridge Health Alliance wants to provide financial assistance to residents with significant financial challenges who might not otherwise be able to train here.
Cash stipends (in addition to standard PSY-level salary) will be provided to physicians-in-training who match to our residency programs in 2021 and were approved for the AAMC's "Fee Assistance Program (FAP)" as an AMACS applicant, with confirmation of continuing financial need.
The total stipend amount of $30,000 will be distributed in three installments of $10,000 at the beginning of each academic year for the first three years of the residency program. See details below.
Applies to physicians that match in 2021 to enter residency programs that are at least two years in duration, sponsored by Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). (See examples below illustrating eligibility.)
After matching to one of our residency programs, eligible incoming residents must provide:
The AAMC's email indicating approval for their Fee Assistance Program (FAP). (We recognize this will be 4+ years old.)
Applicants can confirm that they were approved for FAP and obtain a copy of the documentation by email.
Stipends will be provided by CHA without involvement of individual residency programs or departments. The program/department staff will not know who receives the stipend. *Please note that stipends are considered taxable income.
Examples are provided below and a Frequently Asked Questions page is available.
For additional questions, please contact the CHA Human Resources Benefits Department at benefits@challiance.org.
A student has matched to the Tufts Family Medicine Residency at CHA in 2021 and is due to start in June 2021. Upon receipt of the documentation outlined above, CHA will send the first stipend on or shortly after the first week of Orientation.
A resident has matched to the CHA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship in 2021 and is due to start in July 2021. The Fellow is eligible to receive the stipend in July 2020 and assuming reappointment for the 2nd year of Fellowship, in July 2021.
A student has matched to the CHA Adult Psychiatry Residency in 2021 and is due to start in June 2021. The student is eligible to receive the stipend in June 2021 and assuming reappointment in subsequent years, for the 2nd year of residency in July 2022 and the 3rd year of residency in July 2023. The resident is not eligible for the stipend during their 4th year of training beginning in July 2024 because the stipend is for a maximum of 3 years.
Two students, married to each other (or domestic partners), were individually included in the FAP program as ERAS applicants and have now matched at CHA in Internal Medicine and Family Medicine. Both students will receive the stipend, as their marriage/partnership doesn't negate their individual eligibility. (This would be the case even if they were in the same residency at CHA.)
A student matched to the CHA Neurology program in 2020 to start in 2021, and will be coming to Boston for a Medicine internship at another hospital (not involved in this pilot) in June 2020. The student will be eligible to receive the stipend as a Neurology resident, with distributions in July of 2021, 2022, and 2023 – but not during the prelim year at a different institution.
A student matching in March 2021 for one year of Transitional Year training at CHA (prior to Anesthesia residency out of state) is not eligible because the one-year CHA program does not meet the duration requirements of a residency of two years or longer.
An individual matches to the CHA Internal Medicine program after initially beginning residency in another specialty at another institution. They can utilize the stipend since they have matched to an eligible residency program and were approved for FAP as a student; the prior training does not disqualify them
A student who was approved for AAMC's Fee Assistance Program at the time of their ERAS applications, has since experienced a very positive change in financial circumstance. As an incoming intern they determine that they cannot attest to ongoing financial need and thus do not utilize the stipend.
CHA Adult Psychiatry Residency
CHA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
CHA Internal Medicine Residency
Tufts Family Medicine Residency at CHA
Page updated 9/30/2020.