IUBAT Alumna Writes about Success Overseas

Shrijana Dhakal, an IUBAT BSN alumna, recently wrote to the faculty about her initial struggles and her eventual success in America. 

Shrijana writes: “I came to the United States on March 11th, 2013, and at that time I did not yet have my RN license. Despite my predicament, however, I persisted in seeking a position in different states. Although I received disapproving responses from many states, I finally obtained a positive response from the Texas Board of Nursing. From that starting point, I sought the services of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS), who requested the necessary documents directly from IUBAT.  After getting my Credentials Evaluation Service (CES) report from CGFNS, I was eligible to write the NCLEX exam, which is the official examination for the licensing of nurses in the United States. I wrote and passed the exam in 75 questions on June 21, 2014!  I was able to succeed in this process only due to support and help from Dr. Karen Lund, Rabiul, and my family and friends.”

Thanks for sharing your update from America, Shrijana, and congratulations on your great news!

Scaling Up: Creating On-Line Resources for Nurse Educators

Over the past decade, the Bangladesh Health Project has built a four year BScN program from the ground up. We have celebrated our first graduates’ registration and they are working in leadership roles in Bangladesh and Nepal, or studying abroad. So, now we are looking ahead to an even greater impact on population health by “training the trainers”.

To this end, we are scaling up the IUBAT BScN curriculum as an Online Educational Resource [OER] for nurse educators in similar settings. Our vision is to provide the complete BScN curriculum on-line, including classroom lectures, references and learning resources, assignments and exams, checklists for clinical practice, and administrative policies.

The overall goal remains the same: “To develop nursing leaders who can contribute significantly to improve population health”. We are actively seeking funding for this new OER project. We also plan to create an advisory group or “community of practice” – nurse educators from various settings who will ensure the OER remains current, relevant, and appropriately adapted for low-resource settings.

We hope you will join us in cultivating this new resource. If you are interested in details or would like to participate, please read our project summary.

International Nurses Day 2014 at IUBAT

Every year, nursing is celebrated across the world on May 12th, International Nurses Day, and Bangladesh was no exception. To commemorate this annual day of recognition, the IUBAT nursing students organized a memorable event and celebration. Sara J., volunteer faculty for summer 2014, writes:

“The ceremony began with a traditional Bangladeshi dancer. Heather Cruden, the Canadian Ambassador to Bangladesh, gave the opening speech. The stage was decorated with floral arrangements, bouquets, and garlands of jasmine, roses and tuberose. I had the honour of lighting the symbolic Nightingale lantern with one of the students. One of the senior Nepalese nursing students spoke of his feelings on becoming a well-trained professional nurse, worthy of respect. Afterwards, the students ran a health screening clinic for IUBAT faculty, support staff, and students, checking vital signs, BMI, blood sugar and vision. The turnout was good, including a newborn baby with his proud mother and grandmother. The celebration concluded with tea, cake and fresh coconut juice. This was one very special day.”

For more pictures, please visit our Flickr page.