Training satisfaction and career plans of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery registrars and consultants in South Africa.

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study was to determine the level of satisfaction of registrars and consultants with the Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery (MFOS) programme, and to determine areas of interest in subspecialisation. Materials and Methods A cross sectional study was conducted to determine satisfaction of registrars and consultants with the MFOS programme. An anonymous questionnaire link was sent to 90 participants from institutions which granted permission. The survey explored the level of satisfaction in areas such as academic clinical and procedural exposure. These included registrars currently in the programme and consultants in the institutions or previously linked to the institutions. Results There were 43 respondents who completed the questionnaire which resulted in a response rate of 47.8%. Of the respondents 22 (51.1%) were registrars and 21 (48.9%) were consultants, 12 (27.4%) female and 29 (67.4%) males. Both registrars and consultants were very satisfied with academic, clinical and procedural exposure in the fields of oral pathology (81.4%, 90.7% and 90.7%), dentoalveolar surgery (93%, 95.3% and 95.3%) and traumatology (95.3%, 97.7% and 100%). Consultants were more satisfied in orthognathic surgery than registrars, whereas TMJ surgery showed higher satisfaction levels among registrars than consultants. The greatest interest for subspecialisation was in the fields of cleft lip and palate surgery (32.6%), orthognathic surgery and oncologic surgery (20.9%). Conclusion Registrars and consultants were satisfied in the areas of ‘expertise’ across the academic, clinical and procedural exposures in Oral pathology, dentoalveolar surgery and traumatology. There were differing responses amongst consultants and registrars in the areas of competence in TMJ and orthognathic surgery. The participants were dissatisfied in the area’s ‘familiarity’ across academic, clinical and procedural exposure in oncological, craniofacial and cosmetic surgery fields. The greatest interest for subspecialisation was in the fields of cleft lip and palate surgery, orthognathic surgery and oncologic surgery