Staff Reporter:
Palliative care, a crucial aspect of healthcare, aims to provide relief to those suffering from severe illnesses, manage physical symptoms and emotional stressors, and provide mental and spiritual support.
It reflects humanity and compassion, demonstrating that every life is precious and deserving of respect until the end.
Although it is vital in our healthcare system, Bangladesh is reported as being “among the worst in providing palliative care to its citizens.”
Promoting palliative care AYAT Education provides specialized training to physicians and nurses.
Recently, with the support of Dhaka Bank, the foundation, in partnership with Kumudini Welfare Trust, organised a four-day residential Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) training in Mirzapur, Tangil.
Over 70 nurses and faculty members from 20 public and private nursing colleges across Bangladesh equip them with essential skills in palliative care, emphasizing a holistic approach to patient well-being.
Specialised nurses from abroad provided training in pain and symptom management, loss and grief, mental health and self-care, and ethics.
The training ended in the presence of Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister of Social Welfare, Dr. Rokeya Sultana, State Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Md. Azizur Rahman, Secretary of Medical Education and Family Welfare Division, and Professor Dr. Md. Titu Miah, Director General of the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME).
Esteemed speakers include Harvard University Professor and Bangladesh Program Director at MGH Dr. Bimalangshu R. Dey, Simmons University’s Dean of School of Nursing Dr. Heather Shlosser, Simmons University’s Professor Emerita Anne-Marie Barron, the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s (UNMC) Dean of College of Nursing Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, Chairman and Managing Director of Kumudini Welfare Trust Rajiv Prasad Shaha, Deputy Director of the Directorate General of Nursing and Midwifery (DGNM) MosammatMonju Akhter, and Chief Patron of AYAT Education Nusrat Aman shared their experience and insights with the participants.
