Competency Assessment of Family Medicine Residents in Performing Core Clinical Skills at University College Hospital Ibadan

Background: Ensuring clinical competency among family medicine residents is fundamental to producing practitioners capable of delivering comprehensive primary care. This study assesses the competency levels of family medicine residents in performing core clinical skills at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, South West geopolitical zone. Methods: A structured competency assessment using the Direct Observation of Procedural Skills tool evaluated 45 first and second-year family medicine residents across six core clinical competency domains. Faculty assessors were calibrated prior to data collection. Results: Residents demonstrated satisfactory competency in history taking and physical examination but showed significant deficiencies in procedural skills including wound management, intrauterine device insertion, and skin biopsy. Communication skills were rated as average. Supervision gaps were identified as a key barrier to skill acquisition. Conclusion: Family medicine residency training at UCH Ibadan requires structured procedural skills laboratories and strengthened workplace-based assessment frameworks. The department should develop a competency-based curriculum milestone system aligned with the West African College of Physicians postgraduate standards. Keywords: clinical competency, family medicine residents, University College Hospital, procedural skills, postgraduate training