Johansen Oduor Almost Quit Postmortem Career

Johansen Oduor Almost Quit Postmortem Career

Johansen Oduor Almost Quit Postmortem Career

Johansen Oduor, the chief pathologist for the government, has talked candidly about a moment when he almost gave up on his pathology job.The pathologist said in a Saturday interview with NTV that while he was interested in going into medicine, postmortems were not his thing.

However, the Ministry of Health sent him to City Mortuary when he graduated, which he acknowledged was his first visit.”I decided to pursue medicine because, among other issues, Eastlands faces a shortage of medical professionals, which has an impact on healthcare. My father was startled when I informed him that I wanted to become a doctor. Remembering, he said, “He wanted me to be a teacher.”

“I was not keen on pursuing postmortem. I used to fear (the career) myself due to discrimination but after graduation, the Ministry of Health posted me to City Mortuary. It was my first time there.”Once he got there, he was hit by a stench and contemplated never returning. He was, however, inspired to soldier on in service of Kenyans from poor backgrounds, a conviction he held from his childhood.

“After smelling something foul, I thought about leaving, but after looking into the services, I saw that the people using them were from places like Kibra and Mathare. I asked myself how my family would be taken care of if I quit my job,” he continued.

“I find it easier to appreciate deceased individuals than living ones since they are innocuous. Wherever you leave them, you can always locate them.”Oduor, who was born in1974, was raised in Mathare and later attended the University of Nairobi (UoN), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Medicine and Surgery. He went on to get a master’s degree in pathology.

During the interview, Oduor further shed more light on his career noting that the murder of Rita Waeni was the most heartbreaking he has dealt with.He indicated that he saw the CCTV footage of the deceased and her murderer and could not believe the eventual body he got for the autopsy.

“When you hear the history of what happened. The lady and a gent going to a room. Then when a body is brought to you, it is very painful as a human being,” he added.

Oduor revealed in an earlier interview that he was on the verge of changing his professional path following his initial contact with a corpse while attending Nairobi University’s medical school.

“I recall being instructed to form groups of seven by my late anatomy professor, Prof. Kimani. For the next two years, we were to dissect the bodies that were allotted to each group,” he said at the time.

It was quite distressing. However, I convinced myself that this is what becoming a doctor entailed.”