A study has revealed that 14 out of 18 major medical training institutions’ curricula are obsolete and are unable to address the health needs of the country.
The standard grade assessment done by the FUNZOKenya Projects funded by USAID for the Ministry of Health revealed that 70 per cent of medical graduates are not happy with the training and feel ill prepared for the job market.
Institutions including middle level training facilities and universities do not follow through with annual reviews of their curricula. In the study none of the institutions was found to have an all-inclusive training for cancer, diabetes or for emerging diseases such as Ebola.
The research has unveiled a disconnect between the Ministry of Health and training institutions in the wake of prevalent diseases like cancer and diabetes which pose serious challenges.
“It is important to note that there are emerging diseases such as Ebola and the high prevalence of cancer and diabetes among others, considered as national needs by Ministry of Health, but not considered by the training institutions in their curricula." reads the report.
The analysis also shows that almost all the students felt inadequately prepared for clinical practice because the quality of the classroom delivery of the curricula was poorly constructed for clinical placement in a hospital setting.
The is said to be long on theory but short on practice making the students doubt the quality of their tutors.
The 14 medical institutions are targeted for revamp with support from the American government.
The support will involve curricula review, upgrading of facilities and general infrastructure.
