At an age when many people would consider settling into a familiar career path, 43-year-old Wycliffe Owino Muok has chosen to start a new chapter—one that has taken him from banking halls to hospital wards.
The Kisumu resident has successfully completed a three-year Diploma in Clinical Medicine and Surgery at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) after making the bold decision to leave behind a career in banking and pursue his passion for healthcare.
Muok recently passed his Final Qualifying Examinations in the June/July 2026 sitting, overcoming an earlier setback after narrowly missing one unit during the February/March examinations.
His academic journey has been anything but conventional.
Muok joined Ober Mixed Secondary School in 2004 at the age of 20 and completed his secondary education in 2007 when he was 24.
Years later, he ventured into the banking industry, joining Absa Bank in April 2014 as a Sales Representative. He remained in the sector until around March 2021, when changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted his career.
But rather than give up, Muok decided to reinvent himself.
While still working, he enrolled at Kenyatta University in 2019 to pursue a Diploma in Business Management. He graduated in December 2022 at the age of 39.
However, returning to the financial sector proved difficult, with intense competition making it challenging for him to secure another opportunity.
At 40, Muok made what would become one of the biggest decisions of his life.
In March 2023, he joined KMTC Chuka Campus, embarking on an entirely different academic journey in Clinical Medicine and Surgery.
The transition meant moving from spreadsheets, sales targets and banking operations to anatomy, pharmacology and clinical training.
It was not an easy journey.
As an adult with responsibilities, financing his education presented its own challenges. Yet Muok remained determined to see the programme through.
His journey suffered another setback when he fell short in one unit during the February/March 2026 examinations. Instead of allowing the disappointment to derail him, he went back to the books and retook the unit at KMTC Kisumu Campus.
He eventually passed it during the June/July examination sitting, clearing the final hurdle toward completing his training.
Now, as he looks forward to his clinical internship, expected in July 2027, Muok is already thinking beyond employment.
He is developing Sannah Home Care Services, a Kisumu County-registered initiative that seeks to provide home-based healthcare services to elderly people and families caring for patients with chronic illnesses.
Muok says the initiative will require equipment, medicine, transport and external support to grow into a sustainable healthcare service.
Interestingly, he believes his previous experience in banking and business management will not go to waste.
Instead, he sees the skills gained from his earlier careers as an advantage in managing and growing his healthcare venture.
For Muok, the journey is proof that life’s timelines do not have to follow a predetermined script.
His story is also a powerful reminder that changing careers, pursuing education later in life or starting again after a setback does not mean one has failed—it can be the beginning of something greater.
Reflecting on his unconventional academic and career journey, Muok offered a simple message to anyone who feels they are too old to pursue their dreams:
“Age is just a number; what one does with the available time is the most important thing.”
At 43, Muok is not looking back at the years he believes he lost.
He is looking ahead—to the hospital, to his patients and to a new career he chose to build from the ground up.
