A Collaboration Between Glasgow Caledonian University and Grameen Healthcare Trust
GCCN NEWSLETTER June 2012
HRH The Princess Royal meeting students with Professor Mohammad Yunus and Professor Barbara Parfitt
Letter from Professor Barbara Parfitt
Principal of the Grameen-Caledonian College of Nursing
Dear Readers,
It is more than one year since we had the memorable visit of Princess Anne and the capping ceremony of our first cohort of students. We have asked some of students in this newsletter to reflect on their experience of that event.
Much has happened in our college since that time and we are encouraged by the way it has grown and matured as an institution and in the way that our students and staff are developing. This newsletter will focus on some of the international volunteers that have worked with us as well as introduce you to other aspects of development in our college. The college itself now provides a stable environment for learning to take place with a well run Administrative, HR and Finance Department. We have also established an Academic Department where all the administrative processes that support the effective delivery of our programmes take place. This includes all the necessary requirements for the smooth running of the examinations, the evaluation of our modules, the input of all student data and any other student related admin affairs.
Our administrative staff have worked wonders putting all these systems in place with the support of Glasgow Caledonian University who sponsored Freya Brannan, an experienced administrator from GCU, to spend six months in the college working with the administrative staff. Our academic staff have also grown and developed and we are constantly strengthening our approaches to learning and teaching. We have had support for this from a number of volunteers from the UK, USA, Japan and Canada who have stayed for both short and longer visits to assist our teaching staff in developing their learning and teaching skills and improving their knowledge of the subject areas that they teach. Three staff have also had the opportunity to visit overseas with two staff spending two weeks in Japan at the National Institute for Nursing and Midwifery and one academic member spending 10 days in Scotland at GCU. We are so appreciative of all our partners and the volunteers for the huge contribution that they have made towards developing our teaching standards and running our college. Other volunteers have also been with us to assist us in special tasks, for example this News letter was put together by Mr Bryan Owen, and he also helped prepare our prospectus and other documents needed by the college. I also owe a great deal to my Vice Principal Mrs Niru Shamsen Nahar who is taking increasing responsibility for the management of the college.
Over the past year we have made visits to remote areas to make sure that all potential candidates hear about this opportunity and our students are now representative of all the regions and districts in Bangladesh. We are currently in the process of applying for approval to offer the BSc Nursing programme from Dhaka University. We have been running workshops in ICU and high dependency care using our ‘Sim Man’ donated by Kaiser Permanante, also a workshop on learning and teaching methods for our new teachers and for teachers from other nursing colleges . We are planning to facilitate the Post Graduate Certificate of Education for Health Care professionals validated by GCU starting September. We are also planning to set up two training clinics in 2013 to assist in the development of the role of the community nurse in the Grameen Kalyan primary health services and to provide a quality community based learning environment for students. In association with the clinics we are also exploring the possibility of setting up ‘safe spaces’ for young adolescent girls.
We now have 128 students in the college in three cohorts. They are all working well and the second year students are preparing for their candle ceremony when they will make their Florence Nightingale pledge followed by a cultural programme.
I hope you enjoy this Newsletter with its glimpse into the life of our college. Please continue to support us so that we can reach our vision to provide an opportunity for young women from the rural areas to study at a higher educational level, to learn to be nurses who can contribute towards helping their own communities and to improving the human resources for health in Bangladesh.
Thank you for your support,
Professor Barbara Parfitt
Reflections on Last Year’s Capping Ceremony From a Student’s Perspective
I am Satu Mondal, a 3nd year student at Grameen Caledonian College of Nursing. On 1st March 2011 our ‘Capping ceremony’ was held. As we are going to be competent and skilled nurses so the Capping ceremony is very important as well as valuable to us. The cap is not only a symbol but also like a crown to any nurse.
I feel lucky and proud for having Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, with us and spending her precious time with us. Our ceremony was divided into three sessions. At first we had Professor Dr Mohammad Yunus as chairperson, and our special guests Professor Pamela Gillies (Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University) and Professor Karen Stanton (Pro-vice Chancellor, Glasgow Caledonian University). They gave valuable speeches respectively which were very important to us.
Then we had Princess Anne to present the caps to us. After the Capping ceremony was finished we took our Florence Nightingale pledge as a nurse while holding candles. I felt extremely happy and I cannot express my feelings in words. Actually at that time I realized one thing; I have to dedicate my life for humanity and to providing a service for needy people.
After this great session we had a cultural programme performed by our students which was really entertaining. I also participated in a drama and in a group dance. At last, in a closing song, all the students, teachers, guests and even Dr Yunus joined in and enjoyed it very much. The presence of participants from different corners of the world along with Dr Yunus inspired us for our future. It was a memorable day for me and all my friends.
Satu Mondol 2nd Year Student
Student nurses at their Capping ceremony
Reflections by three international volunteers
Bryan Owen, Volunteer from Glasgow, Scotland
I am by profession both a teacher and a clergyman but other life experiences such as having taught in Papua New Guinea, having been an International Election Observer for the European Union, and being a published writer and poet were perhaps just as important to help me in the job I was asked to do at GCCN.
Two tasks occupied my time in the four weeks I spent at the College in November 2011. The first was writing a set of Frequently Asked Questions (and finding all the Answers!) in time for Admissions Day at the end of November. The second was writing the College Prospectus for 2012-2013.
I was unable to achieve everything I wanted but because I felt so committed to GCCN – its aims and its work – I decided to return in March 2012 and complete the work I had set out to do. Both the Student Handbook and this Newsletter were completed after all.
The guiding mantra in development work is to work in partnership with local people so that they can do the job in due course. GCCN is a College where much is happening, nurses are being trained, the student roll is growing exponentially and tasks need to be done on time. I think working at GCCN has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding tasks I have ever done. I enjoyed every minute (well, maybe not the heat and the mosquitoes!) and I am willing to come back should I be invited in the future.
The College, based on Professor Mohammad Yunus’s social business model whereby young girls in rural areas are given the opportunity for this kind of first-class education, is something I want to support. By becoming nurse-midwives with an internationally-recognised qualification and fluent in English these young girls are breaking the mould. They are being rescued from early marriage and endless child-rearing. As they themselves say, they are ‘agents of change’ in this society. They will change Bangladesh for the better by themselves becoming both more self-confident and rather more independent than their mothers and grandmothers could ever be.
It also means that with good prospects of jobs in a country with high unemployment they will become breadwinners for their families. In Bangladesh the poor are plunged into unthinkable debt because of the dowry system and the high cost of wedding ceremonies, as well as the high cost of medical care when members of their families become ill or aged. That is not an insignificant motive for these young girls. For them, though, nursing is also a ‘noble profession’ and through it they believe they can alleviate a great deal of the suffering they have grown up with in the villages. For all those I spoke to there is a very real sense of vocation.
It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of the College during my two visits and I am sure my involvement will continue into the future.
Freya Brannan, Volunteer from Glasgow, Scotland
I’ve come to volunteer at GCCN, not once, not twice but three times now and I think this perhaps says it all!
Prior to undertaking work and arriving at GCCN on each occasion, I was given an indication of what the expectation of my role would be and felt warmly welcomed before I even arrived. I have had the opportunity to be involved in a range of activities including: team development, recruitment selection, policies, procedures & processes development, various training courses and English teaching. I’ve also been able to offer support to senior staff whenever required. I’ve also had many discussions at the drop of a hat as members of staff have come to me to talk things through.
The College has developed and progressed at an incredible rate and it has been amazing and hugely rewarding to see and be part of that transformation. Students and staff alike not only have genuine
warmth, energy and enthusiasm but also a keen desire to learn and develop. I hope I have managed to give as much to them as they have given to me.
I think I can genuinely say that there is just something about Bangladesh, and the wonderful staff and students at GCCN that just draws me in. I feel that I have gained a whole group of wonderful friends who will forever be in my heart!
Freya Brannan with Finance Manager, Mr Shiplo and Vice Principal, Ms Niru
Anna Ray, Volunteer from London, England
I’d been volunteering as a nurse in Bangladesh for 10 months before I learnt about GCCN; a friend who was volunteering with the college at the time urged me to get involved: ‘It’s an amazing project; you’d love it!’ she said.
So I took a visit and shortly after I was signed up to help develop the practical simulation activities. Much of my work over the last 6 months has involved organising workshops and training days for nurses working in our partner hospitals. GCCN recognises that to improve the quality of nursing care this must include working with staff nurses as well as educating undergraduates.
Thanks to the generous donation from an American medical company GCCN’s simulation laboratory is now equipped with SimMan and SimLady we call Noelle. They are two mannequins that can be connected to a computer and programmed to simulate real patient conditions.
A teacher at the college and I have used the mannequins to teach and practice a range of nursing procedures from managing a breathless patient to a case of full cardiac arrest. The workshops are great fun and watching people get absorbed into their role is brilliant.
I’m also working to promote the use of the mannequins as a teaching tool for the students. The third years are already practicing their critical care skills on SimMan and last month the SimLady, Noelle, delivered a baby!
My friend was definitely right; it is an amazing project and a truly admirable one.
Other recent international volunteers
GCCN has welcomed many international volunteers in the last year including Bill and Merja Reynolds from Scotland and Finland (teaching psychiatric and gerontological nursing respectively), Yumi Orshida from Japan (conducting research and working with Mr Rakesh Tripathi), Ralph and Debbi Templeton from Canada who led two workshops on handling and moving patients, and acute nursing interventions.
Bryan Owen presenting English literature books to Librarian Israt Jahan
In March 2012 Katy Owen came with her husband Bryan. Katy taught English to both students and staff and also worked with Dipali Sing, the House Mother, in reviewing procedures and facilities for the students’ care outside college hours. Bryan wrote the new Students Handbook and the text for this Newsletter on this second visit.
Katy Owen
Susanna Marcos a nurse from Spain deserves a special mention as she has worked as a volunteer in the college for almost two years. She worked closely with the teaching staff setting up the module evaluation system, developing nursing competencies for practice setting up the GCCN website developing protocols for clinical placements and developing a number of additional student policies. Her contribution has been invaluable.
Susanna with a student
Thank you to all our International Volunteers for your Wonderful Contributions
Andrea Hiller (UK Scotland GCU), Yumi Oshido (St Lukes College of Nursing Tokyo), Guy Grenade (UK Scotland GCU), Debra Scott (USA), Bill Reynolds (Scotland), Merya Reynolds (Finland), Reeva Morgan (NHS Scotland), Frey Brennan (Scotland GCU), Dave Parfitt (Scotland), Bryan Owen (Scotland), Katy Owen (Scotland), Debbie Templeton (Canada), Ralph Templeton (Canada), Susana Marcos (Spain) Anna Ray (England).