The rift which had been going on for a long time between Kenyatta University (KU) and the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) was brought to an end after the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that allows KU medical students to use the hospital’s facilities.
This pact marks the end of a period of six years when the two institutions were at loggerheads and the relations had a negative impact on medical training at the university. As per the new facility, Kenyatta University medical students and teaching staff will be given the green light to carry out clinical training, research, and hands-on practical learning at KUTRRH which they had been denied all these years.
While addressing the gathering at the signing event, Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paul Wainaina referred to the MoU as a significant landmark for medical education at the institution. He pointed out that the pact will enable trainee doctors, nurses, medical lecturers, and other teaching staff from the university to have unlimited access to the hospital’s cutting-edge facilities.
Professor Wainaina revealed that the partnership would be an important step in medical training as it will provide students with the opportunity to use modern equipment, get advanced healthcare services, and be in real clinical environments.
The move is set to reinstate normalcy in Kenyatta University medical programmes, and thus, there will be a stronger link between medical education, research, and service delivery. The stakeholders are optimistic that the collaboration will help advance healthcare due to the closeness that will be instilled between academic training and clinical practice at the referral hospital.