PREPARING TOMORROW'S HEALTHCARE LEADERS FOR CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE: AN EXPLORATION OF FINAL YEAR MEDICAL AND PHARMACY STUDENTS' AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND HERBAL PRODUCTS

Background: Medicinal plants and herbal remedies are the most widely used forms of traditional medicine globally. These age-old interventions form the basis for many orthodox therapeutic innovations and are often the first-line treatment in many communities. Thus, it is essential for healthcare professionals to have adequate knowledge of these herbal remedies. This study assessed the awareness and knowledge of final-year medical and pharmacy students in Nigeria regarding medicinal plants and herbal products within the context of modern integrative healthcare.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire among 362 final-year students from selected Nigerian universities. Univariate analysis yielded descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics (multivariate binary logistic regression and Chi-square test) were employed to determine associations between knowledge levels and demographic, institutional, and experiential factors.Results: A higher proportion of the students recognized commonly used medicinal plants, such as ginger and garlic, but were unaware of clinically relevant indigenous products, such as Niclovix® and Ciklavit®. While 84.0% of students reported prior use of herbal medicines, only 31.5% demonstrated good knowledge (mean score: 4.97 ± 1.95 out of 11). Knowledge levels were significantly associated with age, gender, and institutional location. This study also revealed that pharmacy students had higher knowledge scores than medical/dental students, but this was not statistically significant after adjusting for confounders (AOR = 0.33, p = 0.108). Conclusion: Despite students’ general awareness of herbal medicines, their formal knowledge was limited, highlighting critical gaps in the depth and structure of current phytomedicinal education in Nigeria. Therefore, it is crucial to strengthen undergraduate academic curricula to include evidence-based traditional medicine training that is contextual to the Nigerian health system. This is imperative in preparing the next generation of health professionals for safe, informed, and contextually responsive healthcare delivery.