A Mortuary attendant offers important service to the family of the deceased. Besides helping in preservation of the body, the attendants interact with the living clients (family and friend).
According to Funeral Services Association of Kenya (FSAK), Kenya is in dire need of mortuary attendants and Morticians. Currently majority are unskilled and semi skilled hence the need for skilled Mortuary attendants.
To become a professional mortician one must have a set of qualifications. These qualification help the mortuary attendant to correctly identify, register and dispatch bodies from a mortuary facility.
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Qualifications of a Mortuary attendant in Kenya
Traditionally, the work was perceived to require little formal education and a lot of passion in work. However, in the modern funeral homes there are a set of basic qualification that one should have. Below are the qualifications for mortician;
- Minimum Secondary education requirement is C+
- Mortuary science Diploma or any other relevant course.
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Where do you train as a Mortuary attendant in Kenya?
Currently, there are limited training facilities for the Mortuary attendant training. The following are institutions that offer mortuary science training.
1.Chiromo Funeral Parlour
This is facility is owned and operated by University of Nairobi. It is the oldest mortuary science training institution in Kenya. Chiromo is located along Riverside Drive, off Waiyaki Way at the Chiromo Campus of the University of Nairobi. Applications can be made through the contacts below;
Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs)
P.O. Box 30197 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 -20- 318262
Fax: +254 -20-2214325
Email: dvca@uonbi.ac.ke
2.Moi teaching and referral hospital
The Facility is Located in the heart of Eldoret town, Uasin Gichu County. It has state of the art training facility. Applications can be made through the contacts below;
Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital
P.o. Box 3-30100,Eldoret, Kenya.
Nandi Road,Uasin Gishu County
Landline No. (+254) 053-2033471/2/3/4 , 254-053-20-30040,
Cell Numbers:(+254)-722-201277,(+254)-734-600461
Customer Care line:(+254) 706390391,(+254 )732018387
E-mail:ceo@mtrh.go.ke/directorsofficemtrh@gmail.com
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3.School of Medicine, Kenyatta University (KU)
Kenyatta University is the latest institution to offer mortuary science training. Through its school of medicine, KU introduced a diploma course in mortuary science. Apply by click here.
Although the field has great career prospects the rate of uptake is minimal. Having a professional training as a mortuary attendant job prospects are readily available.