Performance of Medical Graduates Within and Outside Nigeria

The objective of this report is to provide a summary of the outcome of Nigerian Medical Graduates globally. Since the establishment of the first medical school at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, at least four generations of medical schools have been created. With approximately 306 health training institutions and ~ 26 medical schools, www.who.int/hrh/wdms/ media/Nigeria.pdf, Nigeria graduates approximately 2300 medical doctors each year. Nigeria has one of the largest stocks of human resources for health in Africa comparable only to Egypt and South Africa. In 2005, there were about 39, 210 doctors and 124, 629 nurses registered in the country, which translates into about 39 doctors and 124 nurses per 100, 000 populations as compared to the Sub-Sahara African average of 15 doctors and 72 nurses per 100, 000 populations[2]. Between 2005 and 2007 requests for certificate of good standing (a surrogate for migration), were 2, 341, 2, 989 and 3, 567 respectively. While many graduates remain in-country, migration occurs in a significant percentage. Based on one study, the most common country of migration is the U.S.A ( 20%), United Kingdom ( 9%) and Ireland ( 5%). In the U.S. most Nigerian physicians in clinical practice, are in a private practice, whereas a small minority is engaged in academic medicine. Curriculum reform in medical schools will be important to adequately prepare medical graduates for practice within and outside Nigeria.