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Mid-Main/Bangladesh Nurse Education Project
tRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR FUTURE HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND LEADERS
With 157 million residents, Bangladesh is among the world’s most densely populated countries. Despite recent reductions in population growth and some economic upturn, life for many Bangladeshi people remains difficult. Improvements to public services are desperately needed.
The Mid-Main/Bangladesh Nurse Education Project is taking on one small piece of this challenge, ultimately working to improve population health through quality nursing education.
Educating Nurses in Bangladesh
Working with the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT) – a non-profit, non-government university established in 1991 – Canadian volunteers from the Mid-Main Community Health Centre in Vancouver have launched a nursing school. Students graduate with an officially-recognized Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Instruction is provided in English, the international language of professional development. Students progress through four years of three semesters each, with lectures, clinical labs, workshops from visiting faculty and practical experience in teaching hospitals and community agencies.
How Will Nursing Education Improve the Population’s Health?
Nurses in Bangladesh have traditionally been poorly-trained, underpaid, and disrespected as professionals. The better hospitals hire nurses from out of country. Nurse educators – those providing the training –lack basic educational resources and are often out-of-touch with the skills necessary to provide even basic patient care.
A major shift is needed, and indeed is taking place. Nurses need consistent, ongoing education based on international evidence-based practice. When education improves, practice standards are raised, the credibility and contribution of nurses is recognized, better wages are demanded, more nurses are attracted to the profession – and patient care improves.
Beyond the Bedside…
As well as preparing nurses for practice at hospitals and health centres around the country, the Mid-Main project is developing future leaders of the profession and the health system itself. Local professors and nurse managers get the skills and support to sustain nurse education ongoing. In addition, IUBAT grads develop the skills to train healthcare workers in Bangladesh’s many non-government organizations, enabling them to offer community-based health services such as immunization and maternal/child care. Finally, teaching programs and materials developed for the IUBAT BSN program will be shared with other projects, further extending nursing education and healthcare knowledge.
