Association Between Medico-Legal Training and Competency in Ethical Reasoning and Risk Assessment Among Final Year Medical Students in Southwest Nigeria

June 14, 2026 torgjournaladmin 0
Categories : Bioethics , Cross-Sectional Study , Ethico-Legal , Healthcare Law , LMICs , Medico-Legal Training , Original Research , The Operating Room Global , The Operating Room Global Journal , TORGJ , TORGJ Vol 2 Issue 2
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Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003

Authors: Oludoju Olamide Osaoduwa1*, Oladipo Favour¹, Soneye TewogbolaOluwa A.1, Ebine Favour Oluwadamilola¹, Oluwafemi Tolulope Emmanuella¹, Olawoye Oluwatobi Oluwadara1, Ayeni Ayomitide1, Adejuyigbe Ikeoluwa1,  Ibirongbe Demilade1

¹ University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo town, Ondo State, Nigeria.

Cite:

  • APA (7th edition): Osaoduwa, O. O., Favour, O., TewogbolaOluwa, S. A., Oluwadamilola, E. F., Emmanuella, O. T., Oluwadara, O. O., Ayomitide, A., Ikeoluwa, A., & Demilade, I. (2026, June 14). Association between medico-legal training and competency in ethical reasoning and risk assessment among final year medical students in Southwest Nigeria. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ), 2(2). https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003
  • Harvard: Osaoduwa, O.O., Favour, O., TewogbolaOluwa, S.A., Oluwadamilola, E.F., Emmanuella, O.T., Oluwadara, O.O., Ayomitide, A., Ikeoluwa, A. and Demilade, I., 2026. Association between medico-legal training and competency in ethical reasoning and risk assessment among final year medical students in Southwest Nigeria. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ), 2(2). Published 14 June. Available at: https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003
  • Vancouver: Osaoduwa OO, Favour O, TewogbolaOluwa SA, Oluwadamilola EF, Emmanuella OT, Oluwadara OO, Ayomitide A, Ikeoluwa A, Demilade I. Association between medico-legal training and competency in ethical reasoning and risk assessment among final year medical students in Southwest Nigeria. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ). 2026 Jun 14;2(2). https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003
  • MLA (9th edition): Osaoduwa, Oludoju Olamide, et al. “Association Between Medico-Legal Training and Competency in Ethical Reasoning and Risk Assessment Among Final Year Medical Students in Southwest Nigeria.” The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ), vol. 2, no. 2, 14 June 2026, https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003
  • Chicago (Author-Date): Osaoduwa, Oludoju Olamide, Oladipo Favour, Soneye TewogbolaOluwa A., Ebine Favour Oluwadamilola, Oluwafemi Tolulope Emmanuella, Olawoye Oluwatobi Oluwadara, Ayeni Ayomitide, Adejuyigbe Ikeoluwa, and Ibirongbe Demilade. 2026. “Association Between Medico-Legal Training and Competency in Ethical Reasoning and Risk Assessment Among Final Year Medical Students in Southwest Nigeria.” The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ) 2 (2), June 14. https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2605003

*Corresponding Author:
Oludoju Olamide Osaoduwa
[email protected]
Declaration:
Authors’ Contribution:
OOO conceived the study; OF, OTE, STA, EFO, AAD, and AI contributed to study design and manuscript development; OOO conducted the analysis; OF synthesized the findings and drafted the conclusion; ID supervised the study. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict of Interest:
No conflict of interests.
Funding:
No funding received by the authors.

Article History:
Received: 05-01-2026
Accepted: 11-06-2026
Available Online: 14-06-2026
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ABSTRACT
Background: Despite rising medical litigation and evolving patient rights, medico-legal training remains peripheral in sub-Saharan Africa. This leaves final-year medical students in Nigeria potentially unprepared for ethical and legal aspects of practice, with limited evidence on its association with ethical reasoning and risk assessment.
Objective: To assess the association between medico-legal training and competency in ethical reasoning and risk assessment among final-year medical students in Southwest Nigeria.
Methodology: A multicentre cross-sectional study among 157 final-year medical students in Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected via a structured, expert validated questionnaire assessing medico-legal training exposure, ethical reasoning, risk assessment, and perceptions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression (p<0.05).
Results: Mean age was 24.03 ± 2.11 years; 65.6% were female. Overall, 73.9% received medico-legal training, mainly lectures (58.3%) and case-based discussions (26.0%). Mean scores were: ethical reasoning 21.06 ± 3.40, risk assessment 27.29 ± 4.86, and perception 27.74 ± 5.35. Ethical reasoning strongly correlated with risk assessment (r=0.761, p<0.001), with moderate correlations to perception (r=0.415-0.576, p<0.001). Regression analysis showed a small positive but non-significant association between medico-legal reinforcement and risk assessment (β=0.116).
Conclusion: Although medico-legal training exposure is common, weak associations with competency outcomes suggest that current training approaches may benefit from greater emphasis on structured, practical, case-based methods. Nigerian medical schools should strengthen medico-legal curricula to better prepare future clinicians.
Keywords: Medico-Legal Training; Ethical Reasoning; Risk Assessment; Clinical Decision-Making; Medical Education; Southwest Nigeria.

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