On-Job Training & Mentorship: How Nurse Lorraine is Boosting Family Planning Uptake

Meet Lorraine Oyiengo—a dedicated 33-year-old nurse whose journey in healthcare has taken her from Masogo HC in 2014 to Got Kamondi in 2015, and finally to Ringa Health Centre in March 2018. Lorraine has spent the last six years providing preventive, promotive, and curative services. Today, her story is one of transformation and hope as she becomes a champion for family planning, especially for long-acting and reversible contraceptives (LARC).

At Ringa Health Centre—a facility supported by Population Services Kenya under the DESIP umbrella—the team noticed a worrying trend during a routine joint support supervision and data quality audit: LARC services were not being fully utilized. The dashboard revealed several challenges including a gap in provider skills, less-than-ideal provider attitudes towards LARC, incomplete IUCD insertion procedures, and persistent myths about family planning circulating in the community.

Determined to turn things around, the team decided that on-job training (OJT) and mentorship were the best solutions. They mobilized model clients, affectionately known as “Madam Zoe” and “Rita,” from the county office. Working together with facility Community Health Promoters (CHPs), they organized a two-day mentorship session.

On Day One, the focus was on theory—nurse Lorraine and her colleagues reviewed the standard operating procedures for IUCD and implant insertion and removal. In the afternoon, they put theory into practice, practicing IUCD insertion on models. The following day, their efforts began to bear fruit: after thorough counseling, one client agreed to have an IUCD inserted, allowing Lorraine and the facility clinical officer to observe and learn hands-on. Later, with guidance from a Sub-County Reproductive Health Coordinator (SCRHC), Lorraine successfully performed another IUCD insertion on a second client.

These mentorship sessions not only improved Lorraine’s technical skills but also boosted her confidence and positively shifted her attitude towards family planning. Inspired by her newfound expertise, Lorraine started collaborating closely with PS Kenya to organize in-reach events at her facility, ensuring that her community could benefit from the essential FP services.

Thanks to ongoing support supervision, mentorship, and specialized training in Counseling for Choice (C4C)—a technique that empowers clients to select the contraceptive method that best suits their needs—Lorraine has become a true advocate for FP. Today, she not only provides high-quality LARC services at Ringa Health Centre but also serves as a mentor in Rachuonyo East, occasionally supporting new providers at nearby facilities. Lorraine attributes much of her success to the dedicated efforts of PS Kenya and the SCRHC, which have helped transform her approach to family planning and, ultimately, increased the uptake of modern contraceptive methods in her community.