Mercy: For the longest time, I have always wanted to do medicine since I was a toddler. I attribute this desire to practice medicine to my undying need and desire to help people in need. Nothing brings me joy like seeing someone who was in need being helped and their problems alleviated.
Esther: Thank you so much Mercy for finding time to share your profile.
I’ll go straight to my questions. Could you briefly tell us about yourself?
Dr Mercy: My name is Mercy Chemutai and I am a doctor by profession. I am a graduate with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Medicine and Surgery. I am an assiduous and professional doctor who always puts the needs of my patients at the forefront. I believe in in patient-centred care.
Esther: Thank you . So tell us, what motivated you to practice Medicine?
Dr Mercy: For the longest time, I have always wanted to do medicine since I was a toddler. I attribute this desire to practice medicine to my undying need and desire to help people in need. Nothing brings me joy like seeing someone who was in need being helped and their problems alleviated. I was sure I would practice in the health care system where one would interact with people in need of help. I think it is also important that I mention that as a child, I remember seeing my grandmother get unwell and unfortunately, she got worse and she passed on after a few weeks in hospital. That stirred up the fire within my heart to want to do anything that is humanly possible so as to save lives.
Esther: That is so passionate. Why did you choose Medicine and not other fields such as Public Health or Pharmacy?
Dr Mercy: I chose medicine because there is direct contact with the patient as a doctor as well as the fact that as a doctor you ill be the one who receives the patient, listens to them and most importantly get the diagnosis of the patient. The other fields are of significant importance too but none of the fields fascinate, motivate and inspire me like that of being a diagnostician in the patient care process. Another reason why I chose medicine is my love for Biology while in high-school, nothing fascinated me more than how the human body functioned.
Esther: And have you tested your motivation?
Dr Mercy: Yes, I believe my motivation has been tried and tested over the past. As a student I have utterly enjoyed participating in many non-income generating initiatives which have a common goal of helping out people in the society. These initiatives include participating in medical camps which major goal is helping out people I the grassroots to access free medical services, such as medical checkups as well as screening of various conditions. Others I have participated in include visits to some children homes in the school’s environs, I have also helped out in the hospital in various departments together with my senior students and interns. I therefore have been able to test my motivation which is to help those in need, in my endeavours.
Esther: You have a heart of compassion. If you were not accepted at medical school, would you have an alternative career plan and still pursue your motivation?
Dr Mercy: I honestly did not have another option in mind if I was not accepted in medical school. I however might have resulted to engage in clinical medicine for four years, then practice for a couple of years before applying for medical school, this is a path some friends I know took and are successful medical doctors. I however did not want to find myself in such a position therefore while I was in high school, I worked tirelessly so as to get into medical school directly. If that alternative path would not be possible, I would think of pursuing nursing, which would further my motivation of being in the frontline of helping out patients.
Esther: How do you visualize yourself using your medical education?
Dr Mercy: Medical education is a complex system that is key for the success of any medic. It is a system that typically entails the use of the Bruner’s spiral curriculum, which involves regularly visiting the same educational topics over the course of the student’s education. It is also entails information build up from what one previously learnt, which acts as the basis of the information to be learnt next. Having such a system in place, the content and concepts acquired in medical school ensure that the student at the end of the course has integrated information that allows the student to become a model doctor who addresses the patient as a whole and not as an ailment. The medical education therefore will be used to improve the health and well-being of the patient.
Esther: Which other field would you want to pursue and why?
Dr Mercy: I would pursue the field of law. It is my passion to see the health sector be the best of its kind as well as being a global standard sector. It is not possible to do this by practicing alone in the hospital. I believe this can only work if the policies that regulate and are in place for the health sector in our country are changed and are implemented. For this reason, studying law will equip me with knowledge that would allow me to know where to channel grievances raised by the health care system. I also believe I can be a part of the policy makers in the country, which means possibly venture into the world of politics. Bottomline is that pursuing law would be a huge stepping-stone and eye opener in my dreams and aspirations to improve the health care systems in our country.
Esther: What excites you about Medicine in general?
Dr Mercy: Medicine is concerned about the health and well being of the individuals. I strongly believe that all other disciplines aside from medicine are dependent on the state of health and well being of any individual within those disciplines. For this reason, I am excited by how the human body works and how to reinstate the normal functioning and health of someone with illness. Saving someone’s life, bringing happiness to them and their loved ones is priceless.
Esther: Being in the medical field requires you to be updated on the current trends. How do you achieve this?
Dr Mercy: I do keep up with the current trends in the medical field as well as in other fields such as business, infrastructure which all one way or another influence the practice of medicine. I am subscribed to a couple of websites and medical journals, which send to my email any new medical news updates, just to ensure I am up to speed with new trends in the world of healthcare.
Esther: Just as other fields, what do you see as challenges in the health sector in Kenya today?
Dr Mercy: Our health care system is actually doing far much better than many countries in the world and significantly better in Africa, especially with the impact of devolution in some parts of the country. There are however a couple of challenges facing the health care sector:
The biggest challenge facing the health sector and all other sector in our country is corruption. This is attributed to the selfish desires of those in power, who embezzle funds, (embezzling of funds which already are not enough), favor people from their families or tribes for certain capacities they may not really qualify for. This at the end of it all makes the sector stagnate or in some cases deteriorate, affecting the productivity of the entire nation as a whole
Lack of enough funding-To sustain a fast growing and multiplying population, a significant amount of funding is needed for the success of the health care sector. As it is now, our country is struggling to pay up debts as well as allocating funds to other sectors since the health sector has not yet acquired its well-deserved priority.
Shortage of medical facilities especially in the rural areas is also an issue which forces the population of those in those areas to go for long distances to access the medical facilities.
Inadequate essential medical equipment that are properly functioning and well maintained is also an issue that affects the health sector. This forces patients to seek medical attention in distant countries such as India where there are proper facilities to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Lack of medications as well as health workers strikes are also other challenges facing our country’s health sector.
Esther: How do you think these challenges should be addressed?
There be stringent policies made to curb the cases of corruption which affect all sectors in our country. The leaders in charge of the health sector should be health care workers too who understand the workings of the sector and who will champion for the rights of the health care workers and facilitate enough allocation of fundings as well as formulation and implementation of policies that favor the success of the heath care sector. The government should also ensure proper auditing is done for the devolved health care systems in the various counties to ensure that each county has adequate medical facilities and medical supplies and medication.
Esther: I have a couple of questions as we wind up. What is the vision of healthcare in Kenya?
Dr Mercy: The vision of the health care system has always been to reduce morbidity, mortality and disability within a population; to sustain and prolong life. The goal is therefore to target the causes of the high morbidity and mortality in the country. Some of the goals include the reduction of the maternal deaths as well as the maintenance of pregnancy and sustenance of good health of the newborns and infants. Another important goal within the vision of the health care system in Kenya is to reduce the cases of the communicable diseases. With the recent rise in the non-communicable diseases in our country due to westernization of our lifestyles and habits have been on the rise, thus another goal is to prevent and reduce the cases of these diseases. Another important goal in the success of the vision is to ensure that the devolved system of government and specifically in the health care system is seamless and is working within the country.
Esther: And what is the vision of healthcare in East Africa?
Dr Mercy: The vision of healthcare in the East Africa Region is to ensure a reduction in the prevalence of the infectious diseases, by sensitization of the masses, on matters hygiene and sanitation as well as importance of nutrition in the maintenance of good health.
Dr Mercy: Thank you so much for your time.
Written by Esther Mugo.