JKUAT students register 96 percent pass rate in Clinical Medicine

JKUAT Clinical Medicine students during Tuberculosis awareness day in March 2019.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology students have posted stellar performance in the May 2019 pre-internship examinations administered by the Clinical Officers Council. Out of the 74 Bachelor of Science in Clinical Medicine students who took the exams, 71 passed translating to a pass rate of 96 percent.

The same streak of performance was registered by the Diploma in Clinical Medicine cohort where 35 out of 38 who sat for the examinations triumphed.

Commenting on the performance, one of the top students, Esther Njuguna Gathoni attributed their success to solid grounding in the discipline, acquired through a series of hands-on teaching and field activities.

“Our lecturers were always at hand to guide us. This enabled us to develop confidence and independence as we moved into the field for practicals,” she recounted.

The Dean, School of Medicine, Dr. Reuben Thuo said the students are taken through a compulsory clinical exposure of eight months.

Dr. Thuo added that JKUAT graduates of Clinical Medicine are well equipped to respond to the demands of Kenya Universal Health Coverage bid.

“Quality personnel remains a major impediment to the roll-out of the Universal Health Coverage. We are making a contribution in this area by producing skilled personnel capable of driving effective service delivery,” Dr. Thuo said. 

Head of Clinical Medicine Department, Mr. George Muthui said, JKUAT observes strict quality thresholds in mounting academic programmes.

The programmes, he added, are manned by qualified lecturers whose commitment has seen the students excel in their chosen careers upon graduation.

 It was the second time JKUAT had presented Bachelors degree students for the pre-internship examination. The national pass rate for the examination averages 70 percent.

The news of the good performance come in the wake of a global ranking that has placed JKUAT among the top Universities in Kenya and the region.

According to the international higher education search engine and directory, JKUAT was the third best university in Kenya and 80^th in Africa.