Self‑reported Training Needs among Physicians in a Tertiary Institution, Southwest, Nigeria: An Application of Hennessy‑Hicks Training Needs Assessment Tool

Abstract

Background: To keep pace with existing as well as emerging public and population health challenges, continuing in‑service professional
development (CPD) of physicians is paramount. This study assessed the training needs of physicians in a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, South‑West,
Nigeria.

Methods: This study utilized a descriptive cross‑sectional design. Three hundred and fifty‑five physicians were randomly selected. Data were collected with the aid of the Hennessy‑Hicks Training Needs Assessment tool. The instrument has five broad sub‑sections: Research/audit, communication/teamwork, clinical tasks, administration, and management/supervisory tasks. In all, these subsections are made up of 30 items with their roles/tasks and were used to assess the training needs of individual study respondents. Charts and proportions were utilized to present the CPD training needs reported by physicians. Mann–Whitney U test was used to examine the difference in training needs between consultants and resident doctors. 

Results: A larger proportion of the study respondents were middle‑aged adults. Respondents’ ages were fairly distributed across the varying age brackets. Respondents within the age bracket 35–39 were the highest (30.36%), followed by those within ages 30–34 years (24.09%). With regard to training needs and capacity development, research/audit skills had the highest need (0.83). Furthermore, training that enhances   managerial/supervisory skills had a rating of 0.68. Clinical tasks and administration tasks have the same rating (0.63), whereas   communication/teamwork had the lowest rating. Consultants expressed higher training needs compared with resident doctors across all task domains.

Conclusion: Quest for skills in research had the topmost priority among physicians, and thus, majority were likely to be receptive to training and acquisition of new skills. Future CPD training should reflect the critical needs for performance improvement, as indicated in this study.

Keywords: Continuing Professional Development, Health-care, Hennessy‑Hicks Training Needs Assessment, Physicians, Nigeria