GME Resources at University of Rochester Medical Center

GME Resources at University of Rochester Medical Center

University of Rochester Medical Center trains more than 900 residents and fellows across 92 ACGME-accredited programs at Strong Memorial Hospital and affiliated sites in Rochester, New York. GME is fully centralized through URMC and the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, with URMC ranked in the top 5% of sponsoring institutions nationally.

This page maps official GME support resources available to URMC trainees. It also points to one separate planning issue — the GSI disability insurance path available to eligible trainees — that operates during training, not after, and on different terms than the group disability conversion rights URMC documents for graduating residents.

This page is maintained by MDGSI as an independent educational resource. It is not produced by, endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the University of Rochester Medical Center.

This page does two things. It maps official GME support resources at URMC so residents and fellows can find what the program provides. It also surfaces one time-sensitive planning issue that most trainees at URMC don’t encounter through standard orientation: the Guardian GSI disability insurance path, and why the timing of that decision matters during training.

Official GME and wellbeing resources

URMC maintains a well-developed wellbeing infrastructure anchored by a dedicated Office of Wellbeing and an active EAP program. The resources below are maintained by URMC directly.

Resident wellbeing and mental health

  • Office of Wellbeing — URMC’s system-wide wellbeing program for residents and fellows.
  • GME Wellness — GME-specific wellbeing resources and contacts.
  • UR Medicine EAP — employee assistance program providing up to 5 free confidential sessions per year for residents and their families. The EAP Director presents directly to every incoming resident cohort at GME orientation.
  • Well-U Program — university-wide employee wellness covering fitness, health coaching, and related resources.

Financial wellness

  • Financial Wellness Resources — URMC’s dedicated financial wellness page for trainees. Covers loan management, PSLF guidance, and financial planning resources.
  • Financial Aid Office — SMD Financial Aid staff explicitly serve residents through training and beyond. Contact: finaid@urmc.rochester.edu | 585-275-4523.
  • Wellness Noon Conferences (IM Residency) — monthly noon sessions that explicitly include financial wellness topics, coordinated through the IM residency wellness committee.
  • TIAA 403(b) retirement — voluntary contributions from day one with investment counseling through TIAA.

Benefits and compensation

  • GME Benefits Table — authoritative source for URMC resident and fellow benefits including health insurance, disability coverage, and retirement. Documents the group LTD conversion right available to graduating housestaff.
  • Benefits questions: benefitoffice@hr.rochester.edu | 585-275-2084.

GME office

A financially-oriented wellbeing environment

URMC is one of the few academic medical centers where financial wellness is explicitly embedded in residency programming. The IM residency runs monthly noon conferences that include financial wellness as a recurring topic. The Financial Aid Office explicitly commits to serving residents through training and beyond. The Benefits Table documents the group LTD conversion right at graduation.

That infrastructure is genuinely useful. It also means URMC trainees are more likely than most to have encountered disability insurance as a topic. The question is whether they have encountered the GSI path specifically, and understood how it differs from the group conversion right the institution documents.

Guardian GSI for Residents and Fellows Training at URMC

If you are currently in training at URMC, the GSI window is open right now. It closes permanently at graduation. Understanding what happens to your GSI access at graduation is worth doing before that window closes.

Apply for the Guardian GSI offer at URMC →

URMC’s benefits documentation notes that graduating housestaff can convert to an individual LTD policy up to $3,000 per month without medical underwriting. The GSI path available to eligible trainees during training is a separate, broader option that does not require waiting until graduation.

Guardian offers a Guaranteed Standard Issue (GSI) disability insurance policy to eligible residents and fellows training at URMC. It is a Guardian product, not an institutional benefit — individually owned, not employer-provided, and available only during the active training window. For a full explanation of how GSI eligibility works for new residents, that page covers the details.

Guardian’s GSI offer for URMC trainees is available at disabilityquotes.com/rochester-wo, the dedicated resource for University of Rochester Medical Center residents and fellows.

Two things are worth understanding before graduation, not after:

First, eligibility closes at the end of training.

Second, Guardian must be the first individual disability insurance application a trainee submits. An application to another carrier filed first can permanently affect access to this option. Underwriting often surfaces medical history residents did not know would matter. A past prescription, a lab result, a condition considered minor. A rated or modified offer from another carrier closes the GSI path for good.

The deeper explanation is in the MDGSI Buyer’s Guide.

Ready to apply?

Apply for the Guardian GSI offer at URMC →

MDGSI and Guardian are independent companies and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of Rochester Medical Center. For authoritative information about your GME benefits, contact your program office or URMC HR directly.