As
you are aware, the health sector is devolved. The county Governments are the leading
employers of medical experts. Therefore, the recruitment exercises that have been
conducted by the counties are hereby used to identify the qualifications
that are in the highest demand.
After
gathering sufficient data, the following are the most marketable medical
courses in Kenya 2015/2016. The data is based on how counties have been
recruiting health experts from January 2015 to August 2015. We are going to
look at the top 5 medical diploma courses that are in “high” demand.
Number 1: Diploma
in Community Health Nursing
Diploma
in Community Health Nursing is the most marketable medicine diploma course in
Kenya today. In 2015 alone, a total of 234 diploma nurses were hired by 5
counties alone. 60 of them had a Bsc. Degree in Nursing.
Let’s
look at the statistics. In May 14 2015, Bomet County hired 100 nurses. The requirement
was a Diploma in Community Health Nursing. On 15 June 2015, Kiambu County recruited
50 nurses. The academic requirement was again a Diploma in community Health
Nursing.
On June 29 2015, Nyamira County hired 60 nurses. However, unlike in
the previous two counties, Nyamira was looking for graduate nurses with a
Bachelor of Science in Nursing. But the number was high in Nyamira for a degree
in nursing requirement. Therefore, if there was a resident from Nyamira who had
a BSc. Nursing, the candidate was almost assured of the job. On 4th July
2015, Tana River County hired 15 nurses with a Dip in Community Health Nursing.
On 21st August 2015, Lamu County hired 9 nurses with the same same
diploma certificate.
The
Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) offers Diploma in Community Health
Nursing in the following campuses; Kisii, Meru, Garissa, Kisumu, Embu, Mombasa,
Nakuru, Murang’a. It is important to note that in certain recruitment
exercises, some counties require that one must have been trained by KMTC.
One
can also get admission by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement
Service (KUCCPS). The KUCCPS cut off cluster for this course has been rising; a
clear sign of its rising demand. In 2013, the cut-off was 10.00. In 2014, the
cut off was 22.00. One of the requirement for one to be admitted for a Diploma
in Community Health Nursing by KUCCPS are;
- A
minimum of KCSE C in English/ Kiswahili and Biology/ Business studies.
- A
minimum of KCSE C- (Minus) in Chem or any other Physical science and Math/Phy.
Upon
completion of studies, one must be registered by the Nursing Council of Kenya
since this is one of the common requirements.
Number 2: Diploma in
Medical Laboratory
Well,
the second marketable course is nowhere close to the first course. The number
of vacancies in the leading course far outshines the number of vacancies in
Diploma Laboratory medicine.
In
2015, Bomet County hired only 10 people with a diploma in this course. Nyamira
County (29 June 2015) advertised 8 vacancies for Medical Laboratory
Technologists. In its June recruitment, Tana River County hired only ten (10)
candidates in this field.
Number 3: Diploma
in Clinical Medicine
The
marketability of clinical medicine is diminishing somehow. Bomet only hired 9
candidates with qualifications in this field in the 2015 recruitment. Nyamira recruited
only 10 candidates while Tana River, Lamu and Kiambu recruited none. Therefore,
it is almost a statistical norm that whenever a county wants to hire clinical officers,
the number of vacancies will be between 9 and 10.
Number 4: Diploma
in Pharmacy
Based
on the recruitment excises in the above counties, the average number of
pharmacists recruited in any given recruitment exercise is between 4 and 15. In
the June 2015 recruitment in Nyamira hired only 4 candidates, Tana River County
hired 15 while Bomet hired only 10 candidates in this field.
Number 5: Diploma
in Public Health
This
course wraps up the top 5 most marketable diploma medical courses in Kenya. The
average number of vacancies when there is a recruitment of health experts in
counties is 10. In the 2015 recruitment, Tana River hired 10 public health officers.
Bomet also recruited 10 public health officers and Nyamira hired only 4
candidates in this field.
Please note that the above
counties have been used for sampling. That is the situation in the above
counties is highly likely to reflect those in other counties. Do you see how
the demand for one course in a given county is almost equal to the demand in
the other county?
Recommended: Most marketable medical degree courses in Kenya