Evaluation of relevance of the components of Pediatric Surgery residency training in West Africa

PurposeThe aim of the study was to determine if pediatric surgery residency training program in West Africa addresses the realities of posttraining practice.MethodsThe study used a cross-sectional survey of 36 pediatric surgeons trained in West Africa using self-administered questionnaires.ResultsOverall, 26 (72%) responded. Although 21 (81%) had adequate exposures in most surgical components of training, 18 (69%) were exposed to most of the nonsurgical components. The least in exposure and use were prenatal management, microvascular and laparoscopic surgeries, hospital administration, and finance management. Pediatric urology, gastroenterology, oncology, trauma, neonatal surgery, burn management, and hepatobiliary surgery were rated as useful and relevant to practice by 22 (85%) of the respondents. Many nonsurgical areas that receive less emphasis in training were regarded as useful in practice by all respondents including ethical decision making, accessing scientific literature, communication skills with colleagues and patient's guardian, and medical research. Significant challenges to training were lack of tertiary children's hospital, dearth of facilities, and inadequate mentoring.ConclusionThe components of pediatric surgery training program in West Africa are relevant to the practice of the specialty in our setting. Areas that may enhance training outcome include improving exposure to all components through multi-institutional and international collaboration and improving existing facilities.