Medicolegal Awareness Among Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Practicing in Tertiary Health Institutions in North West Nigeria

The intersection of oral and maxillofacial surgery with medicolegal issues, including informed consent, negligence claims, documentation requirements, and patient rights, has become increasingly significant in Nigeria's evolving healthcare governance landscape. Despite this, the medicolegal awareness and preparedness of practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the North West geopolitical zone have not been formally studied. This cross-sectional survey assesses the medicolegal knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 50 oral and maxillofacial surgeons and senior residents at tertiary health institutions in Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara States. A validated questionnaire covering consent law, negligence standards, clinical documentation obligations, and incident reporting covered the key assessment domains. Results indicate that while general awareness of patient consent rights was moderate, knowledge of specific medicolegal documentation requirements was poor in 62% of respondents. Fewer than 30% had received any formal medicolegal training during their postgraduate education. Attitudes toward incident reporting were generally positive, but perceived institutional consequences of reporting deterred practice in many cases. The study recommends the inclusion of medicolegal modules in the Nigerian postgraduate oral surgery curriculum, the development of institutional clinical risk management frameworks, and regular continuing professional development workshops on medicolegal practice delivered through the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of Nigeria (AOMSN). Keywords: medicolegal awareness, oral surgery, informed consent, documentation, North West Nigeria.