The Returning Graduate: Registration, Recognition and the Locum Offer

Two separate legal gates. Registration (entry to the register) and licensing (the annual practising licence) are distinct. Holding neither, she is simply an unregistered person in Kenya, whatever her foreign experience.

Pathway. She applies for registration on the basis of a foreign qualification, supported by degree certificate, transcripts, internship certificate, evidence of the Rwandan licence, a certificate of good standing, identification and the prescribed fees. The Council verifies the awarding institution and qualification directly rather than relying on her copies. Because the good-standing certificate is missing, the application is incomplete and cannot be determined; the six-week delay is a documentary problem, not a discretionary one.

What she may not do. She may not see patients, including for 'consultations only'. History-taking, examination, diagnosis and treatment planning are the practice of dentistry when done for a patient. The presence of a licensed dentist does not create a lawful basis for her to treat: supervision legitimises task delegation where the supervised person already holds a recognised status (for example an intern within an approved internship), not unregistered practice.

What she may do. Non-clinical work (teaching, records, research, sterilisation duties that do not involve patients) is permissible. She should also ask the Council in writing whether any limited or temporary registration category could apply to her while assessment is pending, and keep that written response.

Risk to others. Accepting the locum would expose her to prosecution and removal, and expose the clinic to action for facilitating unregistered practice; any indemnity cover would be void. She should decline in writing.

Understand the reason first. A refusal must rest on identifiable criteria: duration and content of the curriculum, clinical hours, entry requirements, the standing of the awarding institution, and the adequacy of the internship. She should request the decision and reasons in writing, because the next step depends entirely on whether the objection is documentary, structural (the qualification is not equivalent) or institutional.

Realistic options.

• Supply correcting evidence where the objection is factual, for example proof that the internship was supervised and rotatory.
• Ask whether the Council will assess equivalence and, if it finds a shortfall, impose a remedy: an adaptation period of supervised practice, additional clinical training, or a prescribed assessment or examination. These are conditions the Council may attach rather than a permanent bar; the specific mechanism available should be confirmed with the Council in writing, since it is not automatic.
• If the refusal is unreasonable, irrational or procedurally unfair, seek judicial review of the decision within the statutory time limits, or use any internal appeal or review route the Act provides.
• If the qualification cannot be rescued, consider a registrable qualification or postgraduate route that is recognised.

What she must not do. She must not practise while negotiating, and must not accept a 'supervised' arrangement as a workaround. Practising pending a review converts a regulatory problem into an offence. She should also avoid presenting herself with protected titles or abbreviations implying Kenyan registration.

The argument confuses the facility with the person. A clinic's registration authorises the premises and the services it may offer; it does not confer clinical privileges on anyone. Each practitioner delivering care must be individually registered and licensed, and the licence is personal and non-transferable.

The clinic's exposure.

• Facilitating or employing an unregistered person to treat patients is itself a ground for action against the facility and against the registered director who permitted it.
• Records signed by an unregistered practitioner raise questions about the validity of consent and of the clinical documentation, which surfaces later in any complaint.
• Any professional indemnity cover for that period is likely to be void because cover attaches to lawful practice.
• If a patient is harmed, both the individual and the facility face civil exposure and regulatory referral, and the case is far harder to defend because the underlying practice was unlawful from the outset.

The correct locum arrangement. A locum must hold current registration and a practising licence, and any conditions on that licence apply (for example restrictions to a supervised setting). The clinic should verify licensure directly, keep a copy on file, and check that the licence remains valid for the whole engagement.

Response. Put the refusal and the reasons in writing, and ask the clinic to confirm the offer is withdrawn. Offer to take the locum once registered. This protects both of you and preserves the relationship.