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.