Open education resources support WHO nurse educator competencies

A recent article by BHP Director Alex Berland and colleagues is now available in a publisher version through Research Gate. It describes an innovative approach to tackling the shortage of qualified nurse educators, which is a major constraining factor or ‘bottle‐neck’ to improve the global supply of nurses, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries. To address this specific challenge, one of BHP’s partners, Nurses International, has developed Open Education Resources [NI-OER] to support nurse educators with freely accessible curriculum materials and remote mentoring support.

Some of the original curriculum materials were developed by BHP volunteers at the IUBAT College of Nursing in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The paper analyzes how the NI‐OER could assist nursing colleges and individual faculty members in meeting the WHO Nurse Educator Core Competencies. The article concludes, “Technological solutions cannot solve all aspects of a complex problem like the global nursing shortage but… the NI‐OER appears to have the potential to support novice nurse educators with accessible, adaptable resources.”

Extending our impact

In previous posts we described how the impact of BHP volunteers is being extended through Open Educational Resources distributed by Nurses International (NI). Our latest contribution creates access to administrative policies, templates, and tools that can be used by educational institutions for their nursing programs.

Dr. Karen Lund and Alex Berland originally developed these administrative resources, which now have potential for global impact. This continues the collaboration of BHP, IUBAT College of Nursing, and NI. Previously, the IUBAT English-medium BScN curriculum was converted by NI into an international resource that has been used in more than 140 countries.

Each jurisdiction has its own regulations related to nurse education programs. Because these materials are now “Open”, users can freely download and adapt them to comply with their regulatory environment. If you would like to contribute policies and procedures, please contact info@nursesinternational.org.

Update to BHP supporters

Since BHP began in 2004, nearly 100 individuals have visited Bangladesh as visiting faculty; many others donated course materials, educational resources and money. Your support to help strengthen nursing in Bangladesh has not been forgotten. Thank you for helping BHP achieve its goals.

With successful completion of our initial task, BHP has shifted its focus as noted below. Please contact us (aberland@protonmail.com) if you would like more information.

1. IUBAT College of Nursing now uses all local faculty, including graduates from IUBAT as well as other colleges. Annual enrolment for the 2022 cohort is over 100 students. IUBAT grads are now practicing widely, many in senior clinical positions in Bangladesh hospitals or NGOs, several as educators, several enrolled in advanced studies.

2. Alex Berland has worked with Nurses International to convert the IUBAT BSN curriculum to an Open Education Resource that has now been used in over 140 countries. That has led to many other initiatives by NI and several academic papers.

3. John Richards and Alex have been working with IUBAT faculty to develop an MPH program at IUBAT. This will provide a career path for nurses wishing to advance in education and leadership. We completed a detailed syllabus and are now waiting approval from the national regulator.

4. John and Alex continue to support other health-related initiatives through Sajida Foundation and service-based research on reproductive health with Dr. Nazmul Huda.

5. John and Alex have worked closely with Oasis for Posterity to build a primary school, two early learning centres and recently a vocational school in north-west Bangladesh. Our fund-raising for construction is complete so now we are focusing on salary support and professional development for educators. Please let us know if you would like to contribute.

6. John continues with a research program on primary school education and recently completed a major text on education in South Asia.

We continue to work through Mid-Main Community Health Centre in Vancouver and will soon establish a new charitable organization focusing on the community development work of OFP. Thank you again for your support to communities in need.