Challenges of residency training and early career doctors in Nigeria study (charting study): a protocol paper

Abstract

Introduction: Early career doctors (ECDs) make up a significant proportion of the workforce of medical/dental practitioners in Nigeria. ECDs play pivotal roles in the Nigerian healthcare system. However, several factors affect ECDs in their career endeavours, ranging from poor remuneration to psychosocial problems (such as burn out, job dissatisfaction, etc.). While other countries have tried to investigate these factors and their impact, no national inquiry has been done yet in Nigeria. This demonstrates the critical need to conduct a nationally representative
study exploring these factors, such as demographic, workplace and psychosocial factors, among ECDs in Nigeria. This article is a protocol paper for the challenges of residency training and early career doctors in Nigeria study; charting study to be conducted under the auspices of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria(NARD).

Methods: The Charting Study would be a mixed study design, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative study designs and access data from structured questionnaire, focus group interview and secondary data available to the association.

Conclusion: The outcome of this study will provide great insight into various issues affecting ECDs in Nigeria and make necessary recommendations.

Keywords: Nigeria, early career doctors, junior doctors, physicians, dentists, workplace, psychosocial issues