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The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) wants a policy put in place to secure the welfare of doctors.
Prof Rose Kosgei, a council member, said there was a need to develop a policy to protect practitioners who experience abuse in the course of service delivery.
Prof Kosgei spoke during the launch of Escort-In-Chief-Through the Eyes of a Physician, authored by Dr Bundi Karau, a senior lecturer in Internal Medicine and also the Associate Dean of the School of Medicine and Pharmacy at Kenya Methodist University (KeMU).
The book traces the journey of Dr Karau as a medical student and experiences taking care of his patients, some during their most vulnerable moments, burnout, personal sacrifices, and other issues in the course of his work.
"As regulators, KMPDC advocates for a policy that protects the mental health and wellness of our practitioners, because a broken doctor cannot heal a broken patient," she said.
Kosgei, who was representing KMPDC boss Prof Frederick Were at the book launch, said that though doctors do not always have the power to cure, they are called to be with patients, navigate the uncertainties, and show empathy.
She said it takes a lot to navigate what she termed 'imperfect science of medicine', ethical dilemmas, victories, and the personal cost of the noble career.
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Kosgei was optimistic that through the book, students and practitioners will learn from the experiences of Dr Karau.
"Those stories will inspire other doctors to be and others who are already there," she said.
She said it was a good thing that practitioners were publishing impactful books.
"We write a lot of books, and we publish a lot. But not many of them write books in the manner that Dr Karau has done, by telling stories. I think this is a very good way of telling what we do as doctors, because medicine is also a social science," she noted.
Kosgei added, "We tell stories, we listen to stories from patients, and then we go to make a diagnosis. We walk the journey together."
Speaking at the event that was also attended by KeMU Vice Chancellor John Ataya, Dr Karau said doctors deal with many issues and experiences in the course of their work.
"Doctors are also human beings, and when patients die, some of us check out and go for days without working, some of us lock ourselves in the house, especially when we think we could have done more," he revealed.
Dr Karau said doctors also experience burnout as a result of long working hours due to a shortage in personnel.
"We have not prioritised health the way we signed international agreements," He said.
He said the fact that doctors do not go to the grassroots to see patients in the early stages was the reason patients seek treatment when their diseases are already advanced.
Dr Karau encouraged his colleagues to write books.
"Doctors have a lot of experience that they should share. When they tell them, they educate us, even those who are practising. We should have more doctors coming out and telling their stories, where they have failed and where they have succeeded. We learn from them the methods they used to succeed."
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