New Open Education Resource

With support from nursing students at Canada’s Kwantlen College, we have just completed a new course, “Introduction to Nursing Part 2”. As with the previous courses (Introduction Part 1 and Medical Surgical Nursing Part 1), this Open Education Resource [OER] is based on the content developed by volunteers teaching at IUBAT. It is intended to assist nurse educators with open access materials, which they can adapt to meet their local needs. The course package includes lectures (PowerPoint and Word format), vocabulary and testing materials, plus critical thinking exercises. We have not yet developed a repository so educators should request access through the “Contact Us” link on our website. Like our work in Bangladesh, Open Resources for Nurse Educators is a volunteer project, so please excuse the slow progress! We welcome more supporters and suggestions for OER.

Caring Governor General’s Award Honours Dr. Karen Lund

Congratulations to Dr. Karen Lund, who was recently chosen to receive the Caring Governor General’s Award, a national honour bestowed upon Canadians who have spent a considerable amount of time towards volunteer efforts and helping others in Canada or abroad.  The Award recognizes the generous and selfless work of its recipients, and commends the compassionate example that is set for others.  Dr. Karen Lund has been involved with the Bangladesh Health Project since 2004, and currently serves as the program’s Visiting Faculty Chair.

Dr. Lund joins Dr. JoAnn Leavey as a fellow Caring Governor General’s Award recipient. You can read about the Caring Governor General’s Award recipient here.

An emphatic thank you to Dr. Karen Lund for your many years of contribution to the BHP; your involvement has undoubtedly influenced the success of the Project in the past, and the influence will continue for years to come.  

The recognition is well-deserved!

High Commissioner at International Nurses Day Celebration

In May of this year, Benoît-Pierre Laramée, High Commissioner of Canada to Bangladesh, visited IUBAT for an International Nurses Day celebration.  

Mr. Laramée addressed the crowd and in his remarks he stated, “We must recognize the utmost value of nurses. They are essential to quality healthcare and the closest professionals to the patients. Canada is providing 20 million dollars to improve nursing and other care in Bangladesh, and we are also proud to support institutional partnerships like the nursing training partnerships between Canadian universities and Bangladesh’s IUBAT. Nurses can lead the way in making Bangladesh healthier.”

In his presentation, the High Commissioner spoke of his own familial ties to the profession – his son is also studying to become a nurse, a fact that inspired many of the IUBAT Nursing students.

For pictures and comments, please visit the High Commission of Canada to Bangladesh’s Facebook page here.