Faith: After witnessing my closest loved one (my mom) in agony while ailing on her deathbed with minimum medical and nursing care, I really felt there was a gap somewhere in the healthcare that needed to be filled. That is where it all began. gates of olympus slot
Occupation Registered Clinical Officer
Speciality: Anaesthetist
Place of work: Ace Northern Hospital
Years of practise: 4 years
ESTHER: Thank you for finding time to have this interview. I’ll go straight to the questions. Kindly tell us about you, briefly.
Faith: My name is Faith Mwongeli. A Clinical Officer and born again. I was born to a single mom who passed on and was later rescued by a children’s home who sponsored all my education. Am also a mother of two.
ESTHER: Nice to know you Faith. What motivated you to practice clinical medicine?
Faith: After witnessing my closest loved one (my mom) in agony while ailing on her deathbed with minimum medical and nursing care, I really felt there was a gap somewhere in the healthcare that needed to be filled. That is where it all began.
ESTHER: So sorry for the loss. And why did you choose general medicine and not nursing or pharmacology?
Faith: I can say it’s interesting. It is an all round field that brings out the fun. Especially being the first respondent to patients when they come in is just satisfying to have to make critical health care plans for them. slot garansi kekalahan
ESTHER: Amazing. Have you tested your motivation?
Faith: Yes. Though I am still in my early days of practice, I can proudly say that I’ve partially proved my motivation. I’ve attended to critical and terminally ill patients patiently both within the hospital boundaries and patients’ homes. I try giving them hope, smiling and showing them some sense of self-worth in such times.
ESTHER: That’s beautiful. If you were not accepted in medical school, would you have an alternative career and still pursue your motivation?
Faith: Alternative career? No. The only course that would have made me satisfy my motivation was just medicine. And I’m glad I pursued it.
ESTHER: This is great. How do you visualise using your medical education?
Faith: I must say; *There’s no better wealth than good health.*
Our health system is so much wanting;
1.There’s so much needed in health promotion to help lead a healthy lifestyle.
2.Community sensitization on disease prevention has been poorly taken up.
3. Health seeking behaviour is still a concern with the heavy burden of hospital bills being the most common reason and excuse.
ESTHER: This is so comprehensive. How do you balance between work, social life and family considering that the medical field can be demanding?
Faith: Though not so easy; boundaries. Drawing a clear line between social and work issues has greatly helped me. Nevertheless sometimes I’m just overly overwhelmed when time is in question. But I make sure to generously utilise my leave and off days to catch up with my family and friends. I also have my life coach who I frequently visit and talk to whenever I’m entirely overwhelmed.
ESTHER: It is important to take care of yourself. Would you want to pursue any other medical related field?
Faith: Yes I would. And that would be Anaesthesia. It may help me balance between work and family. Again, adventure and exploration within the career. Anaesthesia sounds interesting to me.
ESTHER: What do you do for fun?
Faith: For fun I read a lot. Emerging issues in the medical field. Business related articles and of course the Bible. I love swimming and cooking as well.
ESTHER: Great. What role has your family played to influence you on your decision to pursue medicine?
Faith: As stated earlier, my mom’s illness and death was my main motivation to pursue clinical medicine. Prayers and Financial support from Mully Children’s Family drove me through.
ESTHER: What have you achieved in your medical career?
Faith: This I can say, Patience. All through my training and practice, I’ve learnt to be patient. If you know, taking medicine till the end isn’t a walk in the park. Resilience, determination and dedication are key in the field. The experience I have has lots of ‘patience’ , a virtue I didn’t have. I’m a NASCOP certified HIV Testing Services (HTS) counsellor too. I’ve also been privileged to attend several Gender Based Violence seminars that have helped me handle such victims much better.
ESTHER: Amazing. What are the experiences you have had working with sick people?
Faith: I take it as a privilege and a favour. It’s humbling. Generally gives me a reason to thank God always. Some patients may be difficult though, so it’s not as smooth.
ESTHER: And what really excites you about medicine in general?
Faith: The ability to touch the lives of people one on one. Most importantly, medicine is wide and venturing into different fields within the profession can be exciting.
ESTHER: Do you keep yourself updated with current medical trends?
Faith: Yes. And it’s like mandatory medicine. Everything keeps changing every time, so I have to keep up. Attending CMEs, webinars, workshops and seminars have been among many sources of medical information.
ESTHER: What do you see as the challenge facing the healthcare sector in Kenya today?
Faith: Under-staffing both in private and public sectors. Gets health workers overworked hence (somehow) poor productivity outcome, poor remuneration, delayed wages and low input on health promotion and disease prevention services.
ESTHER: What is the vision of healthcare in Kenya?
Faith: Am looking forward to a country with quality, affordable and equitable health services. A reduction in the gaps, in terms of affordability of health services, between the rich, middle and low class citizens.
A country with all specialties at community level.
ESTHER: What is the vision of healthcare in East Africa?
Faith: Looking forward to unified efforts to improve health services in the region without discrimination. Unity in combating malpractices in the health system in future.
ESTHER: Thank you so much for your time Faith.
Written by Esther Mugo.