Orthodontic Training in Nigeria: The residents' perspective

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the scope of the training of Nigerian orthodontic residents and to investigate their satisfaction with their programme.
Methods: A 34 item survey was sent to all Nigerian orthodontic residents in July 2010. Data were assembled and categorized by different variables, and chi-square comparative analyses were performed.
Results: Twenty-eight out of 37 residents responded, giving a participation rate of 75.7 percent. Overall, 46.4% of responding residents were satisfied with their programme. Only one respondent (3.6%) felt the amount of dedicated academic time was sufficient. Fourteen (50%) residents indicated their programme offered training in numerous treatment philosophies. Most (85.7%) perceived they had sufficient clinical based training, and 28.6% indicated that their research based training was sufficient. Only 25% reported that their programme had a balanced plan for the care of disabled or underserved patients. Most respondents (71.4%) felt they will be adequately prepared to provide unsupervised orthodontic care after graduation. The residents indicated they collaborated mostly with Oral Surgery, Paedodontics, Periodontics, and Radiology specialties. However, only 60.7% indicated they had a formal interdisciplinary programme for treating patients.
Conclusion: This study concluded that many Nigerian orthodontic residents are not satisfied with their programmes. They also felt a need for more time in their programme for didactic teaching and research work.