If you frequent the corridors of the Kenyatta National Hospital, you are likely to bump into Dr Carnjini Yogeswaran.
In her white, immaculate lab coat, she looks just like any other doctor. However, what you might not know is that she holds the distinction of being the first female urologist in Kenya.
A urologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases and conditions related to the urinary tract in both men and women, as well as the male reproductive system.
Away from Kenya, Dr Carnjini prides herself on being the only female urology consultant in North Wales, UK.
This is her journey as told by WOA:
Initial ambitions
Growing up, Carnjini’s initial ambition was not to be a doctor.
Speaking to Business Daily, she cited her childhood ambition as being a lawyer, like her mother and older sister.
However, while preparing for university, she developed cold feet after realizing the amount of reading that she would be expected to do as a law student.
“Also, English was not my forte,” she says.
So, she shifted her sights to pursuing medicine and becoming a surgeon.
For her undergraduate, she did a Bachelor’s in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Melbourne, Australia, for six years.
She then worked for three years as a general doctor before applying for her master’s in General Surgery at Agha Khan University, which she completed after four years.
“I wanted to specialize in urology and had to look for training outside the country, so I proceeded to the UK where I spent six years pursuing my subspecialty in urology training,” she told Business Daily.
Several things attracted her to a career as a urologist.
Firstly, unlike other types of surgery, such as endoscopic and laser surgery, urology surgery requires minimal cuts into a patient’s body.
Also, according to Carnjini, urologists enjoy more work-life balance than other types of surgeons.
In the UK, she developed an interest in prostate cancer after working closely with a surgeon who specialized in the same.
There, she was mortified to learn that prostate cancer is a global pandemic.
“Therefore, I felt that I can make an impact by encouraging patients to get tested and being part of their journey in making a diagnosis and treating their cancer,” she said.
As the first female urologist in Kenya, Dr Carnjini naturally faced many problems, including gender bias and gender expectations.
However, she credits her success to support from her colleagues at the Kenya Association of Urologists and the Kenyatta National Hospital.
How to be a urologist in Kenya
In the past, if one wanted to be a urologist in Kenya, one had to travel abroad for training, often in Australia or Europe.
However, Dr. Carnjini shares that today, urologists are trained in Kenya and all one has to do to become a urologist is to complete basic medical training that takes 5-6 years and then specialize as a urology specialist for six years.
One can enroll for a course at Kenyatta National Hospital and the University of Nairobi.
Carnjini’s parting shot is that prostate cancer is the leading type of cancer among Kenyan men. She calls for Kenyan men aged 40 and above to go for screening.
