Providing Palliative Care in Kenya

Jambo !

The New Year is off and running and we expect a very busy year ahead. This report will focus on our educational efforts.

Our Clinical Officers are completing their specialty training in palliative care this April. The national Clinical Officer accrediting body in Kenya will confer the title of Specialist in Palliatve Care on the graduates - this is the first training program in Kenya that will lead to the Specialist designation! 

We are now recruiting for our second class and already have applicants. Our goal is 8 students. Please consider donating to help defray the tuition costs for our students. The tutition for the 18 month training is approximately $2,000 per student. A donation is an investment in a skilled palliative care provider that can provide a career long contribution to improving the quality of life in an area where no such expertise exists.  Any amount is greatly appreciated. 

As always, we thank you for your support. Wishing you the best for 2023 and look forward to updating you after the student graduation!

Ken

Jambo!!

I've been in Eldoret the past 2 weeks and it's be busy, productive and inspiring! 

Dr. Hussein Elias and I prepared then administering the end of year 1 exams for our Clinical Officers. As some of you know, we have created the first degree program in palliative care for clinical officers. Clinical officers are similar to physician assistance in the US. The national accreditation board in Kenya will recognize our graduates as specialists in palliative care (a first in Kenya!!). We have 7 talented students and I saw how much they have learned, particularly during their oral exam. They were able to assess symptoms but also conduct challenging conversations with compassion. True palliative care clinicians!  They have 6 months left in their training and are now going out to rural hospital and inpatient hospices. They must also complete a research project. They will be busy but are clearly up to the task.  

Looking at the number of patients seen by the hospitals' palliative care team, the numbers increased almost 50 % since our students started. This was an unexpected and wonderful outcome of our clinical training program. The students were embedded in the hospital's medical, surgical, and pediatrics teams which led to identification then facilitation of palliative care services. Pediatrics saw the greatest increase. Clearly, our 7 student made a significant contibution to clinical care in the hospital. 

We will be advertising for the next class of clinical officers and providing scholarships is very important. As the Holidays approach, please consider helping us raise funds to assist our next class of trainees. Many of our students have families and must leave their jobs to attend the training. Any help to defray the tuition is appreciated. 

We are wrapping up to research projects and our curriculum for a physician fellowship in palliative medicine is making it's way through the university system. More to come on the next update. 

As always, thank you very much for your support!!

Ken