Editorial standards

How our articles are written and reviewed

Financial content for physicians is a high-stakes category. A wrong number about PSLF, a stale IRS limit, or a misread of a contract clause costs real money — sometimes six figures of it. These are the standards every published article on Attending Financial meets.

Who is behind the content

Attending Financial’s editorial process is led by JM Shafer, DO — founder of Attending Financial, practicing family medicine physician, and medical director, based in Pennsylvania. Articles are published under the Attending Financial byline rather than a personal one because the standard is institutional: every piece is written for physicians and reviewed by a physician before it is published, and that commitment does not depend on any single author.

The review process

Every article goes through the same workflow before publication: it is drafted to a documented editorial brief, checked against our canonical sources for current figures (IRS revenue procedures for contribution limits and tax brackets, Federal Student Aid for loan and PSLF program rules, SSA for wage-base figures), and then reviewed by a physician for accuracy, clinical-world realism, and plain language. Claims about programs in regulatory flux are flagged internally and individually verified before the piece is published. Nothing publishes from a draft state without that review.

Kept current, dated honestly

Tax limits, loan rules, and federal programs change. Articles carry their published and last-reviewed dates, are tied to the rule year they describe, and are re-reviewed when the rules they depend on change — at minimum annually for anything tied to IRS figures. If an article is out of date, the dates say so.

No commissions behind any sentence

We accept no commissions, referral fees, or advertising from lenders, insurers, recruiters, or financial-product companies. No article exists to steer you toward a product that pays us — none do. Our revenue is member subscriptions only, which is the entire reason the content can say uncomfortable things about refinancing offers, whole-life pitches, and doctor-mortgage marketing. The full commitments are documented on our no-conflicts page, and the methodology behind our compensation data is on the methodology page.

Corrections

If something is wrong, we fix it and re-date the article. Members can flag an error from inside the platform; anyone can reply to any email we send. Errors in dollar figures or program rules are treated as urgent.

Educational content, not individual advice. Articles explain how programs and rules work; they do not know your situation. For decisions with large dollar consequences, confirm current rules at the primary source and consider independent professional advice.