An Audit of Technical Skills Training of Nigerian Medical Students: the Olabisi Onabanjo University College of Medicine (OOUCOM) Experience

Abstract

Traditionally, a physician's competence in basic technical skills has been assumed by virtue of his or her having attended medical school. The purpose of this study was to survey the basic technical skills of our final year medical students as well as to determine to what extent these skills are being taught in formal instruction at the Olabisi Onabanjo University College of Medicine (OOUCOM). This may provide a baseline for future assessment of any changes in the curriculum. A questionnaire was administered to all the 2006 final MBChB Medical students of OOUCOM. The items on the questionnaire were designed explicitly to collect information on medical technical skills, The responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SSPS Inc. Chicago, IL) software version 10.0. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The response rate was 85.6% (154 out of 180 students). 80(51.9%) of the respondents were males while 7.t (48.1 %) were females. The mean age was 26.78 ± 2.32years~ (male 27.38 ± 2.53, female 26.11 ± 1.85). The mean year in the medical school was 6.86 ± 0.70 years. 75.3% of the respondents agreed that medical students should be proficient in routine technical procedures. Venepuncture (98.7%), intravenous cannular placement (80.6%), and foleys catheter placement (79.2%) were procedures that majority of the students had the proficiency to perform. A significant proportion of these students were not proficient in performing some basic technical procedures such as lumbar puncture, suturing of laceration. incision and drainage. insertion of IUCD and thoracocentesis. There is a need to incorporate the teaching of a course or workshop on technical procedures in the OOUCOM curriculum.