Furthering Nursing Education with Open Resources

After a decade working in Bangladesh, we have learned that the global shortage of nurses is made worse by an even greater shortage of capable nurse educators.  Therefore, we have just launched the website to access our Open Educational Resources [OER].  This new website will offer our BSN curriculum to support novice nurse educators in less developed countries.

We will post all of our English-medium resources: PowerPoint lectures, student and teacher references, exams and assignments, clinical checklists and policies. Under the Creative Commons license, the OER materials can be adapted and used freely by educational institutions offering nursing degrees, and by association, councils and other groups that provide continuing professional development for nurse educators. We have posted two sample courses and a Teachers’ Guide for beginning educators when using the OER at or4ned.com.

Future phases of the work will include enhancing the OER with multimedia resources, evaluating use of the OER in various settings, and developing a community of practice to update the OER.

We are writing to you now for two reasons:

1. The OER materials need editing and cataloguing. We would like your advice about potential partners or funders for this task.

2. Would you be willing to volunteer your time to review and improve the Teachers’ Guide?

The website provides more information, or you can contact us at info@or4ned.com.  We welcome your suggestions and advice.

Part I: Thank You and তোমাকে ধন্যবাদ, dhonnobaad to our Volunteer Faculty!

Due to the lack of qualified nurse educators in Bangladesh, international volunteers have taught most courses at IUBAT’s College of Nursing. Over the last decade, about 100 individuals paid their own travel expenses to volunteer with us.

Our visiting faculty are truly international, coming from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Middle East, Philippines, Portugal, UK and USA. They have been role models as successful, respected and well-paid professionals. Their presence helped change attitudes in the university as well as in our partner teaching hospitals. Showing solidarity with local nurses, demonstrating commitment and critical thinking – built our credibility as outsiders striving to change outdated views of nurses and nursing.

As a result of their capability and commitment, about 50 young men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal have graduated with BSN degrees. Local and expatriate doctors and nurses providers tell us they consider our graduates the best-prepared nurses in Bangladesh. Most are working in their own countries, many in leadership roles. A few are overseas in careers or higher education.

Thank you to all of our volunteer faculty. This generous effort will have benefits for these nurses, their future students and all their patients for decades to come.

IUBAT Graduates and their Career Progress

Recently, six IUBAT graduates living in or near Dhaka, told us about their current jobs and plans for further education. Tutul is working as an instructor for the BRAC Midwifery Program, as are four other graduates who could not attend the meeting. Shahed is an instructor in the College of Nursing at IUBAT. He teaches various subjects to general university students, supervises the Nursing Practice Lab and promotes Nursing for the IUBAT student recruitment program. Rakib has worked at Ayesha Memorial Hospital since graduation. Initially at the bedside, he worked for a while in an administrative role, then returned to clinical work, now mostly in the ICU. Imran has focused on bedside nursing since graduation. He has been promoted to the High Dependency Unit at Apollo Hospital. His goal is to develop his clinical skills for eventual emigration. Nausheen works for an international NGO, where she organizes medical care for sponsored children. Her tasks are often very challenging as many of the children have special needs. Prashanta has had varied experience since registration, working as a research nurse, staff nurse in a large private hospital and on a Red Crescent team sent to support a seriously under-staffed rural hospital.

All the graduates are actively planning for further education, mostly in Master’s programs in Bangladesh or overseas. We wish them well and look forward to hearing of their career success in future.