IUBAT students as nursing leaders

Visiting faculty member Susan McNeill of Vancouver Community College Nursing Department writes: “Today I checked in on our practicum and internship students at ICDDR,B and left feeling proud and inspired. They are taking on leadership roles and tactfully modelling quality care with compassion. Shahed Chowdhury (BSN 2012, wearing blue in this photo) is a teaching assistant at IUBAT who is dedicated to staying in Bangladesh and changing the perception and quality of nursing. Although the number of grads may be small, they have the potential to ‘punch above their weight’ and make a real difference.”

Audit for BHP completed

Accountability is an important principle for our project. Recently one of our founding directors, John Richards (on the left in this photo with volunteer Amaan Banwait) donated several thousand dollars to pay for the first audit of the Bangladesh Health Project. This audit of project finances from 2008-2010 was completed by Chartered Accountant Mahmoud Virani of Vancouver. (IUBAT is also fully audited in Bangladesh.) Virani’s audit report has been approved by the Mid-Main Community Health Centre Board of Directors. Copies of the auditor’s report are available upon request and will be posted on our website shortly. We are grateful for John’s on-going and generous support. With very few exceptions, such as our auditing and book-keeping services in Canada, virtually all donated funds are spent in Bangladesh.

Opportunities to help develop Bangladesh nursing

We are working with our teaching hospital and college partners on academic program development and quality improvement. (The photo is from a recent workshop at IUBAT on nurse education.) One of our project goals is to create a BSN program for learners who have English as a second language, which meets international standards. In future, this curriculum might be shared with global partners through a Creative Commons arrangement. We need help to develop and format our digitally-based materials for this approach. Another area for volunteer support is quality assurance and accreditation. Such programs are fairly new to Bangladesh, but IUBAT is at the forefront of their development. This foundational work could also have international benefit. Please contact us if you are interested in these opportunities.