Alumnus Lands Position with Médecins Sans Frontières‎ (Doctors Without Borders)

The journey for some students through the rigorous training program at IUBAT is decidedly challenging, and the English language instruction, as well as comprehensive curriculum, require dedication and hard work in order to master. Samir Chandra Das is a graduate from our College of Nursing and is now finding success in his career as a registered nurse, but he describes the bumps he encountered along the way, and the support he received in return. He writes:

Samir

“My name is Samir, and I graduated from the College of Nursing at International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT) in 2014.  As a child, I wanted to be a health care leader.  I love to serve those that are marginalized, poor and vulnerable.  As I love working with people, I selected nursing as a profession, since there are many opportunities to serve and benefit that population.  Furthermore, my brother inspired me greatly to pursue nursing.  He explained to me what nursing was all about and about the prospects and job fulfillment.

Once I made the final decision to become a nurse, I was looking for the most reputable nursing institution.  That is when I encountered IUBAT.  After my admission to IUBAT, I met with Dr. Karen Lund, the Faculty Chair for Health Sciences at IUBAT.  She spoke to me about the variety of job prospects that I could have after graduation, including other benefits regarding nursing jobs in Bangladesh and abroad.  At the beginning of my studies, I was quite depressed because of my poor English skills.  After some time, however, I met with our respected Alex Berland, Senior Advisor in Health Sciences at IUBAT.  I shared my problems regarding my studies with him, and he gave me some valuable suggestions that helped me with completion of my studies and with my English skills and competency.  I am really grateful to IUBAT and our faculty whom taught me, including our international volunteers and national staff.  Because of all of them, I am where I am now.

Samir working with the Kamrangirchar Urban Slum Project with MSF

Just after my graduation from IUBAT, I got an opportunity to work at Gastro Liver Hospital and Research Institute in Dhaka as a staff nurse.  Currently, I am working in Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland (MSF-H), Bangladesh as an Occupational Health nurse since November, 2015.

As an Occupational Health nurse, my role is to provide basic health care to the factory workers and to find out the occupational health diseases.  I am also responsible for providing vaccinations to the children, women and male factory workers, medication administration, IV cannulation, nebulization, dressing, history taking, room temperature monitoring, measuring of vital signs, maintenance of infection control protocols, patient counselling, maintenance of medicine inventory and consumption, maintenance of the cold chain of vaccine, and performance of laboratory tests such as urinalysis, pregnancy tests, syphilis etc.

My opinion is that the College of Nursing at IUBAT is the best nursing college in Bangladesh.  The knowledge that I learned from IUBAT is really essential for my practical services.  I am thankful to IUBAT and our all faculty (national and international) for their valuable suggestions and time, which make me competent enough to provide standard quality of care to patients.  Again, thank you so much for everyone who was with me in my entire nursing journey.”

Thank you for sharing your accomplishments and challenges, Samir, and we are certain that your story will bolster and encourage students currently in the program who may be facing some difficulties of their own.  We congratulate you on your new position with Médecins Sans Frontières, and we hope that you continue to thrive and grow in your role as a nurse.

Snapshots of Student Life

The following are photos taken at Aysha Memorial Hospital on the last day of clinical practice of the Spring 2016 semester for the students in NUR219. These are second year students and the NUR219 class is the first time that students attend clinical practice. Prior to this experience, the students are in the lab classes on campus.

On the left is Shuvashish Das Bala, the instructor for NUR219. It was Shuvashish’s first time in this role as Assistant Lecturer at IUBAT University, taking students on clinical.  This is significant as to highlight the importance of the volunteer faculty (in this case, Roslyn) to help support these new and eager faculty members transition into this role. Next to Shuvashish (from left to right) are nursing students Philomena, Khadiza, Roslyn (volunteer faculty) and Sumona.

In this photo is Mohammad Ali (Kiron), Assistant Lecturer at IUBAT University, with Philomena, Khadiza, Roslyn and Sumona. Whilst not responsible for this class, Kiron participated with clinical to gain experience in this role and to prepare himself for when he will be responsible for taking his students on clinical placement.  

Nursing students, Philomena, Sumona and Khadiza are illustrating standard dress while on clinical. Students are expected to be neat, professional and in uniform, and ready to participate in any and every experience while on practical. They are expected to take notes, ask questions and learn as much as possible. The teachers supervising are available to help and ensure that international standards being taught at IUBAT University are being upheld in the clinical environment.

Finally, this photo showcases nursing student, Sumona, at Aysha Memorial Hospital on the female ward at the nursing station, reading a patient’s chart.

In this course, students attend the hospital one day/week for clinical practice and according to volunteer faculty, Roslyn, “it was really great to see how excited and eager the students were. They would come to the teachers with charts to show us patients on the wards that had conditions related to what they had been learning in lectures. They would describe skills they had participated in with the nurses on the wards, follow doctors on rounds, tend to patient care and translate to English for the foreign faculty what they were discussing/asking patients. The students improved greatly over the semester and it was a pleasure to see them grow in their skills and confidence as student nurses.”

A huge thank you to Roslyn Coltheart who helped with the descriptions of the photos and elaborating on this course during the nursing curriculum.  

Please visit our Flickr page for more photos!

Current IUBAT Faculty and Former Student Awarded with Scholarship

Mohammad (Kiron) Ali is currently a faculty member at IUBAT, teaching students at the very same school where he learned to become a nurse himself.  When asked how he came into nursing and about his future vocational goals, Ali shares some wonderful news with our readers.  

He writes: “Greetings from Bangladesh! I am very sorry for the late reply, as you can imagine how busy we are during the semester end at IUBAT. I came into nursing in 2007, a couple of months after successfully finishing the Higher School Certificate examination.  The decision I made to study nursing was against my family’s wishes.  Historically, nursing is locally viewed as a poor profession and dirty job.  Consequently, I faced discrimination and criticism from my family, friends, and neighbours.  In my youth, I had never dreamed of becoming a nurse, nor did I know what nursing truly entailed.  While I was studying in higher secondary school, I had a growing interest to enter the medical profession.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to talk with Prof. Dr. Karen Lund, former Chair, College of Nursing at IUBAT.  She gave me full insight and knowledge about the nursing profession, and I applied for admission that same day.

Presently, I am working very hard for the residency permit (RP), which takes a lot of paperwork.  I’m happy to share the news to all of my well-wishers, nationally and internationally, after getting RP, and a scholarship!  I have been accepted to the Master’s of International Health program at Uppsala University, in Uppsala, Sweden.  The program will last two years and begins on August 29th, 2016.  Furthermore, the scholarship I have been awarded is called the Swedish Institute Study Scholarship (SISS), bestowed upon me by the Swedish Institute, a public agency whose commitment is to gain knowledge and understanding of different cultures, their people, and to promote Sweden and Swedish issues globally.   Here is more information about the scholarship and the Swedish Institute: SISS – Application procedure and key dates: Swedish Institute.

For my accomplishments in my career thus far, I would like to thank three special people in my life.  Prof. Dr. M Alimullan Miyan, Vice Chancellor of IUBAT, for giving me the opportunity to study at this university under the umbrella of the Knowledge-Based Area Development program (KBAD).  Secondly, Prof. Dr. Karen Lund has been the biggest motivator in my life.  Finally, Prof. Alex Berland, Senior International Adviser of College of Nursing, who has been my mentor.  I will continue writing with follow-ups and updates.  I deeply acknowledge the efforts of all those I mentioned and hope for a continued strong Bangla-Canadian relationship.”

We’re grateful for the update and even happier to hear the great news, Kiron.  All the best to you at the end of a busy semester of instruction, and for your two-year Master’s program in Uppsala!  Perhaps we will hear more about your international adventures further into your career.