Cargando…

Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Clinical performance varies due to academic, clinical, and behavioral factors. However, in many countries, selection of medical professionals tends to focus on exclusively academic ability and clinical acumen. Appropriate selection processes for medical professionals should consider be...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chukwuma, Adanna, Obi, Uche, Agu, Ifunanya, Mbachu, Chinyere
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7716079/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33313400
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2382120520978237
_version_ 1783619101016457216
author Chukwuma, Adanna
Obi, Uche
Agu, Ifunanya
Mbachu, Chinyere
author_facet Chukwuma, Adanna
Obi, Uche
Agu, Ifunanya
Mbachu, Chinyere
author_sort Chukwuma, Adanna
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Clinical performance varies due to academic, clinical, and behavioral factors. However, in many countries, selection of medical professionals tends to focus on exclusively academic ability and clinical acumen. Appropriate selection processes for medical professionals should consider behavioral factors, which may vary across contexts. This study was conducted to identify behavioral competencies considered relevant for effective medical practice in Nigeria, by medical students and doctors, and compared with other contexts. METHODS: This mixed methods study draws on a scoping review and nominal group technique exercises. We undertook a scoping review to develop a list of behavioral attributes that may correlate with effective service provision in the empirical literature, across contexts. Drawing on nominal group technique exercises with 17 medical students and 11 physicians, this starting list was modified through scoring and ranking of selected competencies. We compared the list of competencies and rankings between medical students, doctors, and the scoping review. RESULTS: The scoping review identified 9 articles for full-text review, resulting in a starting list of 21 behavioral competencies defined in studies, all of which had been conducted in non-African countries. The nominal group technique exercises conducted with medical students and doctors yielded a condensed list of 32 and 27 behavioral competencies respectively. For doctor-client interactions, effective communication and patient-centeredness were ranked highly, while for doctor-colleague interactions, teamwork, respectfulness, and management ability were ranked highly. There were also divergences in the condensed list of behavioral competencies and the scoping review, which may be explained by cultural and non-cultural factors. DISCUSSION: This study is one of the few to examine the perspectives of medical students and physicians on behavioral competencies for effective medical practice in an African country. We found differences in the perspectives of medical physicians and students, and in the prioritized competencies across countries. Our study illustrates the need for careful consideration in identifying subject matter experts and in generalizing competencies across contexts. Future research in this field in Nigeria should examine effective ways of testing for key behavioral competencies among medical students and for residency programs. Also, investigating the perspectives of medical faculty and administrators on important competencies, and exploring the generalizability of these competencies across cultures in Nigeria should be considered.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7716079
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher SAGE Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-77160792020-12-10 Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria Chukwuma, Adanna Obi, Uche Agu, Ifunanya Mbachu, Chinyere J Med Educ Curric Dev Original Research INTRODUCTION: Clinical performance varies due to academic, clinical, and behavioral factors. However, in many countries, selection of medical professionals tends to focus on exclusively academic ability and clinical acumen. Appropriate selection processes for medical professionals should consider behavioral factors, which may vary across contexts. This study was conducted to identify behavioral competencies considered relevant for effective medical practice in Nigeria, by medical students and doctors, and compared with other contexts. METHODS: This mixed methods study draws on a scoping review and nominal group technique exercises. We undertook a scoping review to develop a list of behavioral attributes that may correlate with effective service provision in the empirical literature, across contexts. Drawing on nominal group technique exercises with 17 medical students and 11 physicians, this starting list was modified through scoring and ranking of selected competencies. We compared the list of competencies and rankings between medical students, doctors, and the scoping review. RESULTS: The scoping review identified 9 articles for full-text review, resulting in a starting list of 21 behavioral competencies defined in studies, all of which had been conducted in non-African countries. The nominal group technique exercises conducted with medical students and doctors yielded a condensed list of 32 and 27 behavioral competencies respectively. For doctor-client interactions, effective communication and patient-centeredness were ranked highly, while for doctor-colleague interactions, teamwork, respectfulness, and management ability were ranked highly. There were also divergences in the condensed list of behavioral competencies and the scoping review, which may be explained by cultural and non-cultural factors. DISCUSSION: This study is one of the few to examine the perspectives of medical students and physicians on behavioral competencies for effective medical practice in an African country. We found differences in the perspectives of medical physicians and students, and in the prioritized competencies across countries. Our study illustrates the need for careful consideration in identifying subject matter experts and in generalizing competencies across contexts. Future research in this field in Nigeria should examine effective ways of testing for key behavioral competencies among medical students and for residency programs. Also, investigating the perspectives of medical faculty and administrators on important competencies, and exploring the generalizability of these competencies across cultures in Nigeria should be considered. SAGE Publications 2020-12-01 /pmc/articles/PMC7716079/ /pubmed/33313400 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2382120520978237 Text en © The Author(s) 2020 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle Original Research
Chukwuma, Adanna
Obi, Uche
Agu, Ifunanya
Mbachu, Chinyere
Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title_full Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title_fullStr Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title_short Exploring Behavioral Competencies for Effective Medical Practice in Nigeria
title_sort exploring behavioral competencies for effective medical practice in nigeria
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7716079/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33313400
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2382120520978237
work_keys_str_mv AT chukwumaadanna exploringbehavioralcompetenciesforeffectivemedicalpracticeinnigeria
AT obiuche exploringbehavioralcompetenciesforeffectivemedicalpracticeinnigeria
AT aguifunanya exploringbehavioralcompetenciesforeffectivemedicalpracticeinnigeria
AT mbachuchinyere exploringbehavioralcompetenciesforeffectivemedicalpracticeinnigeria