Many nursing students in Bangladesh practice in a hospital attached to their nursing college. IUBAT College of Nursing has no hospital and its BSN students practice in several excellent institutions - general and specialized hospitals, out-patient clinics and an orphanage - through collaborative arrangements. This is similar to the situation in Canada where nursing colleges and hospitals are generally government-funded but independent. There are several reasons why Canadian hospitals value the presence of nursing students.
1. There is enhanced prestige in being a “teaching hospital” partly because the presence of nursing faculty as outside experts helps improve standards of care for all staff, for example through bedside teaching that benefits other team members.
2. Patients benefit from contact with students. Regular staff have many duties and nursing students can spend more time with patients and their families, providing support and education. Many patients are stressed by the hospital environment and benefit from students being available, for instance, to explain instructions about lifestyle changes recommended by the care team.
3. Hospital staff benefit from working alongside students. Although the students have their own learning duties, they also can help to reduce somewhat the staff workload, by measuring vital signs, helping patients to ambulate and so on. And senior nurses often find that interacting with students helps them stay current with new nursing knowledge.
4. Students are potential recruits for the hospital. Student practice is an opportunity for head nurses to identify strong candidates for future employment. In addition, student hires have already been oriented to hospital policies so will require less learning time.
IUBAT College of Nursing has also recently invested in major improvements to the nursing skills lab on campus to prepare students for clinical practice. The original equipment was mostly disused items donated by Canadian colleges, transported to Bangladesh by BHP volunteers. The new learning centre includes modern mannikins on which students can safely practice basic and advanced nursing skills such as inserting IVs and tracheostomy care. There are also vital sign monitors for each “patient”. Additional equipment has been purchased for CPR and first aid training. An instructor is available to supervise and support student practice in both regular classes and during students' free time to maximize learning opportunities. Other College of Nursing labs offer practice in microbiology, nutrition and anatomy and physiology.
