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Please find all the latest news about the Bangladesh Health Project at our new website.

Current IUBAT Volunteer Shares Her Experiences

Nancy Stephens, a Canadian volunteer currently at IUBAT, writes about her experience with the students in the CWCH (Centre for Women and Child Health) practicum setting. "Last week, one of our male Nepalese students was working in the paediatric ward and had done some health teaching about breastfeeding [with my help] to a young mother of a pre-term infant. This teaching was a bit out of his comfort zone and definitely outside of the cultural norm for a male to talk about “breasts” to a female. However, because he acted confident and was matter-of-fact about the subject, the information we had to offer was well accepted by this young mother. The following week he was working in a very busy immunization clinic where the students do a lot of health teaching. There are various health, maternity and nutrition topics that they cover. In our post-conference he reported that many women were very receptive to his teaching about breastfeeding, especially the concept of supply and demand. He also said that one woman asked him if he could tell her when her due date was (many of these women do not obtain any antenatal care so they do not necessarily know when they are due). Since the students had recently learned how to calculate the due date he told her he would help her figure it out. It surprised him that this woman was comfortable giving him that information and I can see that it has boosted his self-confidence. He is very approachable because he has such a gentle soul, and I am glad that he is willing to push the boundaries of what is culturally acceptable in this country. It is one of those small steps forward, and I am thrilled to be a part of it all.”

IUBAT Alumni Travels Internationally Promoting Local NGO

Noor Sabez, an IUBAT graduate is now working for the NGO, Socio Economic Development Association for Disabled (SEDAD) as well as working as a community health nurse throughout Bangladesh. He writes, "My responsibilities are to lead some projects and coordinate the staff and administrative work such as proposal writing, concept note writing, report writing, letter writing to donor organizations etc. However, I am also doing community health education and a general heath checkup program to the disabled, destitute, disadvantaged, distressed and poor communities in different districts of Bangladesh. Currently we are planning to provide physiotherapy to the physically disabled persons.  I am enjoying it very much and also have some opportunity to perform internationally. I went to Italy to give a presentation in a congress about the Social Impacts on Medical Practice in Bangladesh. It was a wonderful experience in my life that I performed internationally which leads me to be more confident as I am so young. The main purposes of us to visit different countries are to do training, meeting with donor organization and giving presentation about our activities etc".

Noor is looking forward to possibly going to Japan for physiotherapy training in the coming months. Congratulations on your accomplishments Noor and best of luck in the future!

New long-term volunteer at IUBAT

Through the kind cooperation of VSO-Bangladesh, we have a new volunteer RN Jim Ofonda. Jim, who will work with IUBAT College of Nursing for two years, is originally from the Philippines where he earned an MSN. Before joining VSO-B he worked as a Clinical Instructor for six years, teaching many subjects in the nursing curriculum. At IUBAT he has been focusing on Community Health, Mental Health and Nursing Administration. Welcome Jim and thank you for your great support to our students and our volunteers.

 

Developing Advanced Nursing Education in Bangladesh Conference

In late January, IUBAT and Simon Fraser University co-sponsored a workshop hosted by the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the topic of developing advanced nursing education in Bangladesh. Over thirty delegates from private and public colleges of nursing were invited to this “Cooperative Dialogue”, as well as representatives of the Bangladesh Nursing Council and Directorate of Nursing Services.  The conference proceedings will be published shortly and posted on our website.

IUBAT Student Excels

RN Firoza Khatun completed her diploma in nursing at a government nurse training institute. While working at Sajida Hospital in south Dhaka, she met IUBAT graduate Bimala Rai, who encouraged Firoza to complete a BSN at IUBAT. With bursary support from Bangladesh Health Project donations, Firoza was able to leave her job to become a full-time student. Since starting at IUBAT she has attained excellent marks in her first two semesters, earning university scholarships. Well done, Firoza!

IUBAT Progress

The IUBAT campus has continued to expand facilities with its fifth and sixth floors now under construction. In addition to the new Nursing Lab, there are new, well-equipped facilities for the agriculture, tourism and engineering programs. Demand for higher education is very strong in Bangladesh due to the large youth population. IUBAT Vice-Chancellor, Dr. M. Alimullah Miyan says that the university has come close to achieving its goal of recruiting students from all rural districts of the country. He has pioneered the concept of Knowledge-Based Area Development, which aims to strengthen community self-reliance by giving young men and women the opportunity to acquire marketable skills through higher education. Dr. Miyan explains that, “Graduates are expected to make efforts to pull up their family, neighbours and the village community through access to knowledge for social and economic development.” Various programs at IUBAT provide financial support for academically eligible students experiencing hardship.

Student Event

Each year, IUBAT Nursing students support the campus blood donation program operated by Quantum Foundation. Students help organize the event, promoting wide participation, and supporting the technologists who perform the phlebotomies and draw blood. These photos show the event MC, Sailesh Bhandari, a senior BSN student who is also President of the IUBAT Nursing Society, and College of Nursing senior faculty member RN Shamsun Nahar who  coordinates the student activities.

Student Nurse Shares in Mat/Child Health Care Knowledge Exchange

Morgan Nealy, a fourth year nursing student from the University of Vermont, just finished her practicum in Bangladesh with a group of fellow students led by returning professor Dr. Rycki Maltby. The group visits a number of sites including IUBAT and the Center for Women and Child Health in Dhaka, which is also a clinical placement for IUBAT nursing students. Nealy, who is passionate about neonatal nursing, describes her experience at CWCH with great enthusiasm.

"Upon visiting CWCH in Dhaka, I was excited to learn more about their methods for handling premature and low birth-weight infants.  During pediatric rounds, we visited the unit containing this patient population.  The attending physician and I had a long conversation about the similarities and differences of care of these infants in the U.S. versus care of these infants in Bangladesh.  Given the limited resources they possess, their survival rate of 32+ week babies is incredible.  The physician I spoke with was clearly proud of the work they do at CWCH, and how they are able to adapt with limited resources to give these infants a fighting chance.  I was extremely impressed by my visit, and it is something that will always stick with me.  Seeing a mother peel back five fleece blankets to reveal her 3-kilogram baby, a true survivor, was absolutely inspiring.  The involvement of the families was absolutely spectacular.  It serves as another reminder that money and resources aren’t everything in healthcare – compassion and a drive to save lives is much more important.  I look forward to bringing this new perspective into my practice in my senior practicum this semester and as a new nurse."

International Seminar Discusses Need to Improve Nursing Education in Bangladesh

The national newspaper of Bangladesh, The Daily Star, printed an article highlighting the need to improve nursing education in Bangladesh in order to improve the standards of care in the country. An international seminar titled “ESL and social media for professionals: Focus on global health education” was held in Bangladesh and professionals from around the world discussed the need to improve the social stigma of nursing, to educate nurses in English and to educate nurses to meet international standards. Click this link to read the full article Better Medicare with Better Nurses.

Bangladesh Health Project makes news in the Globe and Mail

The excellent work the Bangladesh Health Project does in the nursing program made news in the Globe and Mail in August 2012. Dr. John Richards, Alex Berland and Dr. Karen Lund are all quoted along with several BC based nurses that have volunteered with the organization. Volunteer Lynn Buhler who is the director of community health with Vancouver Coastal Health "was struck by the students' drive and commitment to the profession during her six-week rotation this past summer."
To read more, click this link Volunteers Change Nursing in Bangladesh.

We will miss you, Sonie!

We are sorry to lose our long-serving faculty member, RN Sonie Meyer. Sonie is a US nurse who volunteered with IUBAT College of Nursing for five years as a clinical instructor, supervising medical-surgical nursing students at Apollo and United Hospitals. In the photo she is at United Hospital with students and visiting faculty member Brenda Hutton. She is also an American Heart Association instructor who certified our students in CPR each year. The second photo shows her in hands-on practice at IUBAT.

All the students loved Sonie for her patience and competence and dedication to seeking new learning experiences for them. Sonie is leaving with her family for a new assignment in Ethiopia. We are very grateful for her dedicated support of IUBAT students. We will miss you, Sonie, and wish you all the best in the future.