BHP Volunteers' Efforts Live On

IUBAT’s BScN curriculum was developed over many years by our volunteer faculty. They also converted the curriculum to an Open Educational Resource that was donated to a USA-based NGO, Nurses International. In this video, Dr. Kathleen Capone, Nurses International’s Academic Director, provides an overview of the program’s achievements. In its 2021 annual report, NI reports that  it has completed three more open access courses, plus a textbook for nurse educators (based in part on BHP work) and a policy and procedure handbook to standardize patient care. All these materials are freely available on-line and have now been downloaded in over 140 countries.

Thank you to all those who helped improve the teaching material.

Your efforts are continuing to make an impact.

Supporting nurse educators

Long-time BHP supporter, Dr. Gopal Verma (dark suit) invited Alex Berland to speak to students and faculty at East-West Nursing College in Dhaka during Alex’s latest visit. It was also an opportunity to pass along textbooks donated to BHP by the BC College of Nurses and Midwives.

As the IUBAT College of Nursing is now well-established, BHP efforts have focused on developing educational resources and support for other projects, including the global Open Access work of Nurses International, the elder care program of Sajida Health Care and a rural home care program. We are still awaiting final approval for the IUBAT Masters in Public Health program that will emphasize advanced education opportunities for nurses. At the outset, we hope to recruit international faculty volunteers to teach some classes remotely.

BHP activities for 2021

BHP support for the IUBAT College of Nursing continued during 2020. We still welcome volunteers to support the local faculty, especially with clinical supervision. However, our focus has been “behind the scenes” partly due to the pandemic restrictions and also to advance several exciting new developments:

1. Working with Nurses International, we have been converting the BScN curriculum to an Open Educational Resource. You can read about this in several publications.

2. During 2020 we worked with IUBAT faculty to develop a proposal for a Masters in Public Health Program. This will create a career pathway for nurses and other health care professionals. The national regulator is now reviewing the application, so we hope that students will be admitted later in 2021.

3. Working with another NGO, Oasis for Posterity, we have supported development of a vocational college in a rural area of northern Bangladesh. We hope to offer a training program for community health workers and a primary care clinic that can also be used for training BScN and MPH students.

As always, we welcome volunteer contributions and involvement in these activities, whether working from home or in Bangladesh. Donations are always welcome.