An assessment of national needs for community physician manpower in Nigeria: staff training needs and programmes

This second part of a national survey was designed to identify the training needs and programmes considered most appropriate by the most senior health management staff of the state governments for the field practice of community medicine in Nigeria. The operation of the current primary health care programme and the field practice of community medicine although constitutionally a local government responsibility, effectively rests on the state governments at present because of economic and political constraints at the LG level. The main needs identified in the study are for a certifiable and appropriate generalist community physician training programme as well as the relative levels of emphasis needed in the different sub-specialty areas. While holders of the current fellowship diploma in public health of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria are welcome to practice in the field if they are available, many state governments and officials consider the programme ill-suited to the needs of field practice community physicians. Thirteen (68.4% of the) respondents, consider it suitable only for jobs at state employment levels and higher up. Twelve of the 17 physician respondents considered clinical practice essential for all community physicians. Eighteen of the 21 state governments would be ready to sponsor their physician candidates to local training programmes in public health as identified in this study, if different from the current postgraduate fellowship. Maternal and child health was the area of sub-specialty training considered most needed in the states. This was followed by epidemiology, environmental health, health education, health and biostatistics, health management, and occupational health in that order.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)