Leadership and Healthcare Management Needs and Inclusion in the Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum in Nigeria

Background: Leadership and management skills are considered essential for high-quality patient care at all levels of the health system. This study aimed at identifying the leadership and healthcare management (LHM) needs of junior medical doctors (JMDs) and possible modes of inclusion into the undergraduate medical education (UME) curriculum.

Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling technique. It was conducted at the College of Health Sciences and Teaching Hospital of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Osogbo, Nigeria and State Specialist Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria, between November and December 2018. Seventy-four (74) Nigerians comprised of medical students, junior doctors, nurses, administrators, lecturers, and hospital/college of health sciences executives (stakeholders) were assessed. Participants completed an eight-item self-administered leadership and healthcare management questionnaire with a Likert scoring scale of 1 to 5. Statistical analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS Software, with significant p-value put at P<.05.

Results: Seventy-four (74) participants were studied, 45 males and 29 females. Out of 35 skills/competencies listed, three inclusions: Patient Safety, Judgment and Decision making, and Legal Issues in Medical Practice, were unanimously rated important or very important by all study participants. Participants slightly preferred that LHM be taught in the clinical years, and 12 weeks duration of training was the most popular choice. Among the commonly suggested methods of training, only the use of didactic lectures had statistical significance (c2 = 25.767; P = .01). The preferred trainers were the Hospital/College of Health Sciences-based management experts (c2 = 22.308; P = .03). The top envisaged barriers/challenges were time constraints and a lack of LHM lecturers. Overwhelmingly, the study participants agreed that LHM training will benefit JMDs and improve healthcare delivery.

Conclusion: The study has revealed very strong support for LHM training and identified the LHM competencies/skills needed by JMDs in Nigeria. More work is needed to refine this essential inclusion in the UME curriculum.