IUBAT BSN recognized by Government

Program Director Karen Lund offered flowers to the Minister of Health, Dr. AFM Ruhal Haque, in celebration of the completion of IUBAT’s affiliation with the Bangladesh Nursing Council.

Earlier this month the Government of Bangladesh gave IUBAT College of Nursing retrospective recognition for introduction of the BSc in Nursing program and permission to enroll up to 125 students per year.  (Previous graduates of the program were pre-approved to appear in the Bangladesh Nursing Council’s licensing examination of October 4th and received their RN certification the following week.)  IUBAT is now the first non-government university in Bangladesh to be authorized to deliver an independent BSN.  We are very pleased to have reached this milestone. This provides us with greater certainty as we move forward to develop the nursing leaders needed in Bangladesh and globally. We have ambitious plans for further development of nursing leadership in the region. You can find details elsewhere on our website.

IUBAT Alumnus Currently Training in Portugal

Sweta Sharma is a graduate of IUBAT, and since the registration of the BSc Nursing graduands, Sweta has been accepted into a Master’s Program offered as a joint collaboration between several European nations.

She writes: “I have arrived safely to Portugal to begin my scholarship and post-graduate studies.  The 18-month long program is an Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Emergency and Critical Care Nursing (EMMECC-Nursing).  It is a Joint Master’s degree organized by a consortium of 4 educational institutions in 3 European countries: The University of Oviedo (Spain, Coordinating University), Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Finland) and University of Algarve and Polytechnic Institute of Santarem (Portugal).  Within the program, there are two possible areas of specialization: Advanced Adult/Geriatric Clinical Nursing and Advanced Pediatric Clinical Nursing.  I have decided to specialize in Advanced Adult/Geriatric Clinical Nursing.

Our first semester is in Portugal, however, the second and third semesters will be in Spain or Finland, depending on the courses we have decided to take.  All the universities of the consortium participate in teaching activities and supervision of the Master’s thesis. Upon graduation of the program, I will obtain a joint degree signed by the University of Oviedo (Coordinating University) in the name of all participating Universities. The program will cover both the living cost and travel arrangements during the 18-month period.

Thank you for all the support during our time in Dhaka and knowledge and confidence that you all provided us.”

Thank you for your story Sweta, and the best of luck in your studies!

Congratulations on your success.

IUBAT Nursing Students and Volunteers Hold a Successful Health Camp

The IUBAT Faculty of Nursing students, along with volunteers, successfully held a two day community outreach program from August 31-September 1, 2013 entitled, “Health Camp“.  In collaboration with local groups, such as Youth Club (YC) and Citizens Committee (CC) in Parbatipur and Birampur, Dinajpur District, nursing students taught health-related skills and interacted with the groups and the communities.  Some of the activities related to Community Health Nursing (CHN) concepts such as health promotion and health education.  The outreach was conducted through partnership Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) – Bangladesh, and two of their international volunteers, Jim Ofonda and Neils van der Verge, and with Gram Bikash Kendro (GBK), a partner organisation of VSO based in Dinajpur. IUBAT is also an active partner organization of VSO.

VSO, originally founded in the United Kingdom, is an international organization that sends volunteer-professionals to 40 countries all over the world in a effort to fight global poverty and disadvantage by bringing people together to share skills, creativity and learning.  Health Camp also allowed the nursing students to see the lack of access to quality health care in rural areas, especially for those who are marginalized and disadvantaged.  Seeta Ghimire, a senior nursing student, was inspired by the outreach event and the interactions between the locals and the students.  She says, “It is necessary to organize the health related activities in the community because it helps us to understand the different perceptions of the people about health, how do they take care of their health, what are the prevalent diseases, its causes and risk factors and what is the cheapest and easiest interventions that could be taken to make the living and health conditions of the people in the community secure.” 

A variety of activities and informational sessions were held at Health Camp, and approximately 250 women, children and elderly patients were assessed by a nurse and a doctor.  Nursing students had the opportunity to practice clinical skills, such as taking blood pressure readings, testing vision, determining body mass index, and testing blood sugar levels.  Workshops focussing on health promotion, disease prevention, hygiene and food safety were held.  The events were well received, and many of the citizens who participated in Health Camp were excited to share their newfound knowledge with their villages.

To view/download a Powerpoint presentation of a synopsis of Health Camp events and pictures, please click the link below, and for more photos from this event, please visit our Flickr site!

Health-Camp-Presentation-Jim-Ofonda.pptx

Download PPTX • 944KB