Appraisal of Surgical Training Supervision and Competency Assessment in Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Colleges

The quality of surgical training supervision and competency assessment in Nigerian postgraduate medical residency programmes is a determinant of the technical competence of emerging surgeons, and its systematic appraisal has not been conducted across geopolitical zones. This study appraises surgical training supervision practices and competency assessment methods applied in general surgery residency training programmes across six teaching hospitals representing Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. A multi-site cross-sectional design is applied, combining structured surveys of 180 resident surgeons and 60 consultant surgical supervisors across the six sites with document reviews of institutional training logs, operative competency forms, and exit examination records. Survey instruments assess frequency of supervised operative cases, feedback quality, workplace-based assessment use, and resident confidence in core surgical procedures. SPSS is used for analysis. Available surgical education literature from Nigerian programmes identifies low rates of structured workplace-based assessment, heavy dependence on examination-based summative evaluation, and inadequate intraoperative feedback as the most prevalent training quality gaps. The ISCP Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme competence frameworks and WACS postgraduate surgical training standards provide the benchmark reference. Findings will provide the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria's Faculty of Surgery with evidence for curriculum review. Keywords: surgical training, residency supervision, competency assessment, postgraduate surgery, Nigeria.