Dr. Jacqueline Kitulu

My YDN story:

My story began in 2018. I had the pleasure of serving as KMA President from 2016 to 2020. In 2017, I attended the World Medical Association Annual General Meeting, which was in the USA. It was then that I was introduced to what is the World Medical Association, called the Junior Doctor’s Network (JDN). That was my first encounter with JDN, a community of junior doctors with their own leadership and of course, feeding into the larger WMA.

My second encounter with the JDN was in 2019, once again during the World Medical Association Annual General Meeting, in Tbilisi, Georgia, which I attended with Dr. Lyndah Kemunto. The Junior Doctors Network had a one-day session of their own, before the actual assembly and they had invited me to be one of their keynote speakers. I got to speak in their meeting, hang out with the junior doctors, and run through their full-day session. After the meeting, they had an evening out and they invited me to join them. We had a really great opportunity to see how and what the young doctors are thinking, what ideas they have, and how it plugs into the larger association.

It was from this experience that I drew my inspiration to start our own Junior Doctors Network. We decided to call it The Young Doctors Network in the place of Junior Doctors Network. That's why it became YDN and not JDN. So if you go into WMA, you'll find they all have JDN but we have a YDN. Our first convener was Dr. Elizabeth Gitau. Later on, Dr. Elizabeth Gitau became KMA CEO and relinquished her convener position to Dr. Lyndah Kemunto.

The motive behind the formation of YDN: We were enthusiastic about creating a space for young doctors to grow. This specifically fed into a need that we had already noted; younger doctors felt that KMA was for older doctors. YDN, therefore, was producing a different perspective. We felt strongly about creating a space that would allow young doctors to freely share their thought processes and feel heard. That is how YDN came to be and I am so excited to see how much YDN has grown over the years.

What were your expectations of YDN? The idea of the YDN was to network and build connections. I think that we've achieved that in terms of networking. Looking at what I saw of JDN at the WMA, I felt that definitely if we have younger doctors on board with the amount of energy they have as well as ideas and innovations, they would definitely grow. Therefore, I was not in doubt of the ability of the young doctors to grow. I strongly believed that they just needed a forum, a place where they are wanted, where they are needed, and where they have a clear job description, or terms of reference. Having taken care of these factors, they would be able to know what they are feeding into the larger organization and how to go about it.

I have to say, I am very proud of the progress we have made over the years. We have not only grown locally, but we have also grown on the global stage. We are represented even on that larger WMA forum It is inspiring to see how active our young doctors are. They are not just in the background, they are also at the forefront of what is happening on the global stage. I have seen Dr. Marie-Claire represent YDN out there on the global stage at the WHO meeting, appearing in various media platforms and publishing articles highlighting the state of health care in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. So I really feel really proud of how much an idea can grow and bring so much meaning to our agenda.

At the WMA meetings, we are able to speak on global platforms as Kenyan young doctors. This grants us the opportunity to build that network and learn from the other networks out there of the JDNs; what are they doing in their countries? What can we replicate? What can we share with them? These have been, for me, amazing highlights on the local front. The fact that we have a YDN pre-conference session is also brilliant. Again, it's bringing that inclusiveness, that diversity; that young doctors can actually run a conference well and set up a good session which is quite engaging.

Onboarding of the younger doctors was very important because it provided them with a space in which their skills could be nurtured. We have succeeded immensely considering that we have Dr. Lyndah Kemunto as the youngest member of the National Executive Council.

These women are adding value and it's interesting we are having this discussion in March on International Women's Day (08 March 2023) when we are looking to embrace equity.

When we have women in leadership, there are some things that we bring out which include inclusiveness in the race toward equity.

Where do you see YDN in the next five years? What objectives do you think YDN should focus on achieving during this time period? Yes, I think the main thing at this point is digital innovation. I believe also, there are quite a number of young doctors who are already involved in digital innovation. In the next five years, YDN should be able to incorporate this whether it is at the point of service, of delivery, or of care. This could be utilized in keeping medical records, in research, in CPD, in monitoring patients, and in entrepreneurship.

This is an area that YDN can really grow into and that would lead the way for the whole association, not just for the young doctors. There have been challenges around absorption into employment and this is a space that could ensure that their skills are still being utilized.

In the next five years, I also see YDN building more leaders. Our purpose is to ensure that there is quality health care in the country. The older doctors can mentor the younger doctors as well as medical students. I believe setting that pattern of mentoring will make a big difference. We are all different and we all have different perspectives. When we all sit together, I think we have better representation that then covers the issues that we need to solve from a wider lens of vision.

How did you transition from leadership in YDN to the KMA National Executive Board? What has your personal journey been like?

Back in the day, KMA would host a dinner when you graduated. They invited us for dinner and then told us about KMA and KMA SACCO and how you could get your professional indemnity. That was our first interaction with KMA.

Shortly after that, I got more involved with the Kenya Medical Women's Association. I went to one of the initial meetings and at the end of the meeting, I somehow found myself as assistant treasurer. I would say part of it was just me putting myself out there and being willing to serve. The question, “Who is willing to be part of the team?” was posed and I put my hand up. That was in 2006 when I became assistant treasurer and we started to get the organization back into place. I remember the organization had property in Nairobi West. Therefore we got Gertrudes Children’s Hospital to rent it and we got finances to get active.

In 2008, we had elections and I ended up becoming chair of the Kenya Medical Women's Association. I was practically thrown into the deep end but I had a passion to get people on board, to network, to grow, and to meet the mandate of the organization which was to promote women's health in the country, and of course, even the greater public's health.

In 2004, H.E Mwai Kibaki's government established a National Economic Social Council on which they had representation from various private sector bodies and they also wanted representation from professional bodies like KMA. So at that point, I wasn't active in KMA. The leadership team at that time was required to send names for the National Economic and Social Council, and they needed a female name at that point. They then reached out to me and explained that they had seen my work in KMWA they were going to forward my name. And that's how I ended up sitting on the National Economic and Social Council from 2004 to 2012.

In 2012, the assistant secretary of KMA then took a sabbatical to study and I was nominated to the National Executive Council. So I came in as Assistant Secretary General.

In 2014, when I was still the Assistant Secretary, there was a proposal that we introduce the position of CEO of KMA. We had an Executive Assistant, but not a CEO per se. All the members of the National Executive tended to be busy people and many ideas were being generated, but there was no one to implement them. We needed a CEO and that's how we got Dr. Wala to step in as CEO. She stepped down from her position of Vice Chair and the National Executive nominated me to be the Vice Chair. So I moved up then from Assistant Secretary to Vice Chair position. Then we got someone else to come into the Assistant Secretary position.

At the time, I was doing my MBA at Strathmore. The last session I was doing was Marketing. I took the marketing knowledge I had learnt and put it into my campaign and did things that I hadn't done before. There were no rules against any of them, but they had not been done; I put posters in the main hospitals and buildings where there were doctors and just sent mail around. I also visited various branches to market myself, “This is who I am, and these are my interests and this is what I want to do.” And that's when I got to come in as the first female KMA chair

What is YDN doing to mentor young medical students and doctors? And what are some of the opportunities for medical students in YDN?

To be part of the Young Doctors Network, one must be within five years of graduation. Medical students are eligible for membership right from their 1st year of study till their 6th year. I can confirm that many medical students have joined YDN and they are curious to know more about their opportunities, ways in which they can add value, and how they can benefit from mentorship within the association.

We are always happy to have medical students onboard. They get exposed to many leadership and mentorship opportunities within the association A good example of the benefits medical students are reaping from YDN can be seen in Ruby Oswere’s story. Ruby is a fifth-year medical student from the University of Nairobi who is also serving in YDN. She is also a diligent member of the newsletter committee. As a member of the YDN, she gets to learn, be mentored along the way, and to be exposed to so many leadership opportunities.

What are some of the biggest challenges that YDN has faced in the past five years? And what are some of the ways YDN has navigated these challenges?

I haven’t been actively involved in the YDN leadership space since I finished my term in 2020. The greatest challenge we faced at the beginning was trying to find our space and where we fit in, in the grand scheme of things. It was quite difficult; the journey toward YDN finding its footing. For instance, during conferences we did not know how to go about the recruitment process; were we to oversee the recruitment process ourselves, or was it up to the bigger association? With time, however, it became pretty clear that YDN is actually a baby of KMA. They are not separate and they are all working towards the same mission.

The other challenge may have been really in the context of the perpetual question everyone is always asking, “What will YDN do for me? What will KMA do for me?” Whenever anyone would ask me that, I would explain a member organization is not a thing standing there. It's made of people. People who are you and I. So don't ask what it can do for you, ask what can you do for it. Or what can you gain from it? What can you learn from it?

It was a challenge, admittedly, getting people to commit to come in and be the ones to be change makers. However, there has been a shift in this mindset and we are hoping that many more young doctors will be able to continue embracing this viewpoint. It creates an amazing space for both growth and mentorship. I, for instance, look at the newsletters that come out and they are all YDN work. Again, that's an opportunity that would still be untapped if people didn't step in to do it, but all in all, we have really grown a long way.

Parting shot: No one is too young to lead. All you need to have is the desire and the passion for leading as well as access to spaces consisting of people who allow you to grow. YDN does provide young doctors with a mission to lead and allows them to find a space to grow and the opportunity to be connected to other larger opportunities. You can’t wait until you are fully equipped to start. Start as you are! I remember how I came to be the Chair of KMWA. I was invited to a meeting and decided to attend. The purpose of the meeting was to nominate leaders and I remember how reluctant I was to put up my hand. And it was from this act of bravery that I was successfully nominated. I could have said, “No, I can't do that.” But instead I said, “Okay, I will step in.”

So this is a message to the young doctors out there. Start as you are! You will learn along the way in a gradual process which will allow you to build up on the skills you already have. And while you are at it, I urge you to embrace the inner voice that tells you, “It is okay. All I need to do is learn more of this.”