Six stormy years and the audacity to confront a challenging future: taking stock of the Kenyan Doctors' Union.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) was formed in August 2011. Within the last six years, this union has galvanized the Kenyan doctors together, agitated for healthcare policy reforms and successfully negotiated and registered a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Though political will and the national citizens' psyche on matters pertaining to public healthcare remain a challenge, this union has made its foot prints on the Kenyan conversation space. KMPDU looks forward to engaging local, regional and international health stake holders to improve the state of the country's health care, key among these being to have a national commission handling all the human resources for health.

Imperforate Hymen - a rare cause of acute abdominal pain and tenesmus: case report and review of the literature.

Imperforate hymen is a rare condition that presents with amenorrhea, cyclical abdominal pains and urine retention among pubertal girls. A 14 year old girl with imperforate hymen underwent hymenotomy for hematocolpometra, having presented with abdominal pains and tenesmus.

4th stage transvaginal omental herniation during VBAC complicated by shoulder dystocia: a unique presentation of uterine rupture.

BACKGROUND: Uterine rupture is a common complication in women attempting their first virginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) but the risk diminishes with subsequent VBACs. It occurs in rates of 0.5-9% and is influenced by various factors. CASE PRESENTATION: A unique case of uterine rupture in a Kenyan woman of African descent during a repeat VBAC complicated by shoulder dystocia was discovered during the 4th stage of labour when omentum was noted protruding through the vagina. She had delivered 4 years earlier by caesarean section. CONCLUSION: It is not common to experience uterine rupture among women attempting repeat VBAC. When it occurs, it may not always follow the known pattern intra-partum and is often associated with poor foetal outcome.

Learning from the nurses and the paramedics: the experience of a Kenyan medical officer intern-a call for research.

In the Kenyan medical educations system, one has to go through one year of internship after graduating from medical school in order to be licensed to practise medicine. This internship period is laden with work to the extent of overwhelming and stressing the medical officer interns. Irrespective of what competence interns come with into the field there is still a lot they have to learn from the nurses and the paramedics. Most of the learning takes place during the acute care settings when the intern is on call and is from the nurses. The paramedics most helpful to the intern are the theater assistants who teach interns how to use the various surgical instruments and sometimes direct during minor operations.

From a dream to a resounding reality: the inception of a doctors union in Kenya.

After two grueling years of determination and resilience, the Kenyan doctors have formed a doctors' union. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union(KMPDU)not only aims at agitating for better terms of service for its members, it also aims to influence the running of the Kenyan health sector and improve health services in Kenya. The union has been fully recognized by the Kenyan government and is engaging the government concerning various health sector policies besides improved terms and working conditions of the doctors in the country.

Peters anomaly with post axial polydactyly, bilateral camptodactyly and club foot in a Kenyan neonate: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: A case of bilateral Peters anomaly with bilateral post axial polydactyly, bilateral camptodactyly, and club foot was examined in a neonatal Kenyan baby girl of African descent who had been delivered in the hospital and admitted to the newborn unit. She died aged five days. There are no cases of Peters anomaly recorded in Africa according to a literature search. In addition, available data point to the majority of the principal associations in Peters anomaly to be genitourinary anomalies, making this case a rare one in its isolated collection of musculoskeletal associations. CASE PRESENTATION: A Kenyan baby girl of African descent who was born through a caesarean section presented in the new born unit of our hospital with bilateral corneal opacities, bilateral polydactyly, camptodactyly and club foot. CONCLUSION: This is a rare case of Peters anomaly and its association with multiple musculoskeletal abnormalities makes it special.