Open Education Resources now available

When BHP volunteers helped IUBAT build the College of Nursing starting in 2003, we had to create all the learning resources ourselves. We wrote the course lectures and exams based on current textbooks in various subjects so that the syllabus meets the requirements of the nursing councils in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Each semester successive groups of visiting faculty volunteers updated and improved the content. Fifteen years later, that curriculum has been tested by volunteers with current clinical and teaching experience and used with many batches of students. We are now partnering with Nurses International, a US-based NGO to make these digitized materials available as Open Education Resources [OER], meaning everything can be downloaded, used and adapted without cost under the Creative Commons Licensing system. The intended audience is junior nurse educators who may need support as they begin their teaching careers. Please use the Nurses International link to access the materials or contact BHP if you would like to volunteer with further OER development.

Update July 2019

In July 2019, Alex Berland visited IUBAT College of Nursing, meeting with Dr. Abdur Rab, Vice-Chancellor and Mr. Mohammad Ullah, Chair of the College of Nursing. They discussed Open Educational Resources, post-graduate nursing courses and clinical placements. Alex also presented a lecture for the general IUBAT audience on “Technology Enabled Learning”, highlighting how the BHP BSN curriculum is now being shared globally through Nurses International. He then met with College of Nursing faculty to discuss current teaching issues, particularly how to meet the challenges of increased enrolment, especially for active learning in the classroom. In addition to Dr. Karen Lund and Alex, three other volunteers will be visiting IUBAT CoN later this year. Since his last visit, Alex reports, the BSN program is experiencing strong enrollment growth, is retaining its local faculty who are working through recommendations of the largely positive accreditation report, and has recently renewed clinical placement agreements. In the near future, construction will begin for a laboratory block offering greatly enlarged lab facilities where BSN students can develop their clinical skills.

Meet the College of Nursing Faculty

Alex Berland recently visited IUBAT and shared this photograph of the current College of Nursing Faculty at a meeting in the Nursing Lab. Seated clockwise from left are Emtiaz Mainul (B. Eng. – program assistant) Khadiza Akter (BSN RN) Ishraq Rahman (BSc Biotechnology) Ayesha Siddika Rimi (BSN MPH RN) Priyanka Das Sharmi (BSN MA Gerontology, RN), Mostaque Ahmed (BSN), Shuvashish Das Bala (BSN MPH). Not shown Kanika Isla (BSN RN). Alex comments, “I was impressed with this dedicated group of faculty members. They have varied educational backgrounds, bringing diversity to the College of Nursing. I had a chance to observe them working as an effective team to solve every day problems, ranging from organizing a student spelling competition to mapping course competencies onto overall program objectives. I was also happy to note their solid grip on students’ learning experiences in the classroom and a clinical setting.” We welcome visiting faculty volunteers to work with these junior educators as coaches and mentors. Please contact us.