Interview with a Kenya nurse Ms. Merry Mwangi

Interview with a Kenya nurse Ms. Merry Mwangi

I have chosen to interview Ms. Merry Mwangi who currently works as a Director of Nursing in Kenya, and has an interesting background in management. Merry is someone I consider a strong Leader and mentor. She is very positive and genuinely enjoys her job.

Merry has 13 years of nursing experience in medical surgical nursing, research nursing, as well as public health and community health nursing. For the past four years Merry has served as Clinical Director, Director of Nursing in Kisii Kenya. In these leadership roles Merry has been supervising office support, clinical, and representing these organizations on several boards and committees. Merry currently works as a Clinical Manager of Nursing in Nairobi, Kenya

Me: Welcome Ms. Merry I am happy to see you after a long time.

Merry: Thank you Hesbon It’s nice to meet you again, I see you have grown tall and skinny since you left us. “I m joking around son”

Me: Who inspired you to become a nurse and eventually a Kenyan nurse?

Merry: My mother, who is your grandmother, was a nurse. I have always been surrounded by the women in my family including your mom who were in the health care field. Becoming a nurse was a logical next step in my professional life.

Me: What do you enjoy most about being a Kenyan nurse?

Merry: First of all, Kenya is my home and I am proud to be a Kenyan worker and serving them. I like the independence it gives me. I also like the fact that I have time to teach people how to take care of themselves. I also get to see people when they are healthy, like during routine physical exams and school wellness exams. I really take time to teach my patients about self-care.

 Me: What kind of leader do you perceive yourself to be?

 Merry: Authoritative, democratic, someone who treats everyone fairly.

Me: Tell me about your clinical background before becoming a nurse practitioner.

Merry: I worked as a medical surgical “floor” nurse for a year and then switched to emergency medicine in a busy emergency room where I worked for nine years.

Me: What is the hardest part about being a nurse in Kenya?

Merry: Treating people with limited access to health care is the hardest part in Kenya. I see people who have mistreated their health for a long time not because they didn’t care or didn’t know there was something wrong, but because they couldn’t afford the care they needed because of poverty.  I find that very sad. I try to be very cognizant of the costs of the prescriptions I write.

Me: What are the problems Kenyan nurses are facing?

Merry: I really don’t think if you understand the problems we have. In Kenya there is manpower shortage in all health facilities. There is one nurse in almost half the dispensaries, and nearly half the health centers are staffed by less than three nurses and they serve almost 3000 people a day and yet the payments are low.

Me: What types of nursing specialties do you have in Kenya?.

Merry: We actually have Emergency room, Pediatrics, Forensics, and Mental Health. This are just a few of the many specialties open to nurses. Nursing specialties exist for nearly every major illness, population group and life situation requiring medical care.

Me: Let’s talk about salaries. How much money are you paid as a Kenyan nurse?

Merry: In Kenya we are overworked and the payment is low. Kenya Nurses salaries range from a low of $30, 000 per year to a high of over $60, 000 per year. The average registered nurse salary is $60, 000. That’s why we are not going to be working in the next two weeks, We need the government to double our payments or else we will put our tools down.

Me: So you are saying that you are planning to put down your working tools as Kenyan nurse if the government doesn’t give you better payments. Don’t you think you will be fired and many lives will be lost without being attended to in hospitals?

Merry: Well, fast sacking the striking health workers will only lead to more loss of lives.  It’s better the government to move faster to solve this matter and save lives, and if they fire us, that’s not the solution. Kenya has a shortage of nurses, They can’t fire 990,000 health workers at once. So they better do something to save lives

Me: Tell me how one would make a good Kenyan nurse?

Merry: Nursing is a good career choice for people who want to make a difference in the lives of other people and who want a stable career that pays well. People who enjoy science, want a flexible schedule and the opportunity for advancement will find that nursing meets all of these criteria.

Me: What paths should I take to become a Registered Kenyan Nurse?

Merry: To become a registered Kenyan nurse, one can attend a technical school, a two-year college to earn an associate’s degree or attend a four-year college to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing. The last step to becoming a registered nurse is to take and pass the Kenya National Council Licensing Exam. Once this exam is passed, the student is officially being registered as a Kenya nurse.

    Me: How do you work on team building with your team members?

Merry: We do little group projects from the simple thing of decorating the unit for holidays to organizing birthday parties, pot lucks, and participating in things like charity runs and health fairs. We do a "pet of the month" where we choose the pet of one of the staff to occupy a special place of honor in our break room. I will have informal little meetings with specific shifts or specific team members in my office and encourage communication, camaraderie and conversation. I also remind everyone at staff meetings about working together and supporting each other. If there is someone who I hear or observe is not a team player, I will work with them individually about this and educate them in the ways of teamwork. I have been at this long enough that I learned to make this one of the subjects I discuss during a hiring interview so it is very clear to any new hires that teamwork, getting along with each other, and a positive attitude is expected. At the first glimmer of a problem with someone not being part of the team, I begin to work with them on what I expect. I very seldom will refer to the unit as MY unit or the nurses as MY nurses or MY employees. I think that is so arrogant! WE are a team

Me: What should Kenyan people do to stay healthy?

Merry: This is a very important question. First, people have to engage in activities that promote good health. Healthy activities include eating well balanced meals, staying active, getting adequate sleep, not using illicit drugs or tobacco products, limiting alcohol intake, not engaging in unsafe sex, and using seatbelts at all times. You may be surprised that you have already been doing some of these activities, and that is excellent!

The next step in maintaining good health requires having a medical home with a primary care provider who can keep tabs on your overall health. It is important to have routine physical examinations with your primary care provider and keep up with regular screenings. During your visits, you have the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have and receive information that will enable you to care for yourself. Your primary care provider can also help you stay current with your immunizations.

Me:     What are the major health challenges you are facing in Kenya?

Merry: Kenya is currently facing a rapidly increasing population, and  a countrywide shortage of skilled health workers.  Mortality rates in Kenya remain high and continue to rise. Most doctors in Kenya move to cities with large hospitals. Many of them abandon public practice to work in private clinics. Others leave Kenya to work overseas. As a result, community health centers in remote locations suffer from a shortage of trained professionals.

Me: What is the working environment of a Kenyan nurse?

 Merry: The working environment of a nurse varies, depending on the type of nurse and the place of employment. However, it is very typical of a nurse to work long hours at odd times. It isn't uncommon for a nurse to work a 12hour shift, have a day off, and then back on for another long day/night. The environment can be hectic and high-pressure, as nurses are depended on to make quick decisions, and care for the sick and injured. sometimes when caring for someone with an infectious disease, the nurse's work environment can be dangerous.