Monthly Newsletter- August 2014
Healthcare Project in Korail Slum
Good Heal Trust has completed yet another month of health service at the Korail Slum. This month service was given to a total of 392 patients, including regular clinic patients, advanced consultancy services, follow-ups, referral cases and GHT Health camp patients. GHT’s Telemedicine Services, consultancy through Skype was provided to 10 patients. The two doctors who provided their services through Skype were Dr. Aynul Kabir (from the Medicine Department)- 5 patients and Dr. Apurbo Kumer Saha (from the Medicine Department)- 5 patients.
The team arranged referrals for 78 patients to visit different hospitals such as BSMMU, Sorwardi Hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital (BMCH), Gulshan Seba House, TB Hospital, Society for Assistance to Hearing Impaired Children (SAHIC), BRAC, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and the GHT Camp.
Similar to previous sessions, Good Heal Trust presented health awareness sessions twice a week on general health advice to patients of the Korail Slum. Advice pertaining to personal hygiene, family planning, common diseases amongst women, common diseases present in households and many other issues were discussed. Focus Group Discussions (FDGs) were held with 650 people within the slum. Senior nurses along with the help of team members help to conduct the sessions.
There were two health camps held this month, on the 13th and 24th of August, 2014. A total of 69 patients were given health services in the camps. The doctors who provided service at the camps were Dr. Apurbo Kumer Saha (from the Medicine Department), Dr. Farhana Rahat MBBS, FCPS (Pediatric) Consultant (Pediatric) and BIHS and Dr. Tania Islam (Medical Officer).
In the camps, a total of 61 patients registered as newly registered patients. 8 of them had already registered from before. Good Heal Trust provides a health card to each new person. A mere Tk50 is charged as the card registration fee. Each card holder patient is also given a registration number. With this card patients are able to avail the health care services that the trust has to offer.
In addition to the above, as always, special healthcare screening was given for the following: breast -oral -cervical cancer screening, blood sugar monitoring, health education and diet counseling, pregnancy tests were given for both adults and adolescents and special heath education sessions were held at the slum clinics.
We will continue to try to bring the best care possible within our means. As the clinic at the slum continues, we are optimistic that good changes will continue to occur in the health sector with the small steps we currently take and endeavour to take.
Nurses’ Skill Enhancement Program
As the Nurses’ Skill Enhancement Program (NSEP) comes close to finishing one year at both Birdem and National Heart Foundation, the course continues to go on in full swing. Nurses continue to avail this great opportunity of further education on an international level.
Nursing Classes: Nursing sessions are the core of the program and are conducted twice a week.
The topics covered at Birdem this month include:
a) Anatomy/physiology of the Nervous System, its neurological assessment and diagnostic procedure.
b) Head injury and Intracranial Pressure
c) Spinal Cord Injury, Myasthenia Gravis, the Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Craniotomy
d) Anatomy/physiology of G.I System and diagnostic procedures.
e) Appendicitis, Intestinal obstruction, Cholecystitis and Cholelethaisis.
f) Peptic Ulcers
g) Introduction on Psychiatric Nursing and Psychopathology
h) Eating Disorders: Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, Eating disorder NOS, and Binge Eating Disorder.
Activities to note:
– Pre-and post assessment slip tests/quizzes conducted during the classes.
– Practice English test conducted on 11-Aug-2014
– Practice Nursing test conducted on ‘Obstetrics and Gynecology Intugumentary System on 31-Aug-2014
– Practical class on back care to prevent bedsores.
The topics covered at NHF this month include:
a) Breast cancer: anatomy of the breast, causes and risk factors of breast cancer, screening, staging system, surgical therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and its nursing management.
b) Anatomy and physiology of female reproductive system, menstruation and fertilization.
c) Cervix Cancer: its definition, stages, clinical manifestation and radiation, chemotherapy and surgical management.
d) Infertility: its definition, causes, risk factors, basic infertility evaluation, diagnostic procedures, infertility treatment for men and women, surrogacy.
e) Leadership in Nursing: Portrait of a Leader, Qualities of a Leader, Styles of leadership, Characteristics of Effective Nurse Leader and importance of team work.
Activities to note:
– Pre-and post assessment slip tests/quizzes conducted during the classes.
– Practice nursing test conducted on ‘Interpretation of ECG, Peripheral Vascular Diseases, Defibrillation Cardiac Version on 31-Aug-2014.
English Classes: As the course is coming closer to an end, nurses are being given three English classes per month instead of two. The English sessions keep group works and student centered learning as a top priority. The nurses are encouraged to speak and overcome their weaknesses in spoken English through group presentations. Pair/group works are done in each class based on the topic being taught.
The topics covered in the English Classes at Birdem and NHF this month include:
a) Bangladeshi weddings & the usage of prepositions. Nurses studied different vocabulary related to weddings and spoke about their dream weddings. They also learnt the usage of prepositions.
b) Continents, Countries & The difference between ‘tell’ and ‘said’. Nurses reviewed the seven continents, the four oceans and names of numerous countries along with their capitals. They also learnt the difference in usage for ‘tell’ and ‘said.’
c) Sports & Hobbies, Common Errors Made in English & ‘May I’ and ‘Can I’- Nurses went over the difference between sports and hobbies and were taught a list of both categories. They learnt the usage of ‘May I’ and ‘Can I’ in addition to going over a few common grammatical errors that are often made for ESL learners.
Computer Classes: NSEP faculty continues to conduct both theoretical and practical computer sessions for the nurses at the hospitals’ computer lab. This month, the nurses were once again given assignments from their Nursing class which they did during the computer practical sessions.
Grooming Classes: Grooming is one of the main aspects covered within the NSEP sessions. Nurses are given at-least one grooming session per month.
The topics covered for grooming at Birdem and NHF this month include:
a) General Etiquettes and Professionalism in the Nursing Field- nurses looked into etiquettes for various settings and studied the definition of professionalism in their field.
*GoodHealTrust would like to request continued special prayers for its Executive Director, Mr. Tanvir Raquib who had a heart attack last month. He had been released from the hospital after intensive care was given but has been admitted once again due to other medical problems that arose. We would like all of our readers to remember him in your prayers and request others to do the same. Prayers that he can get back to work with good health, faith and even greater enthusiasm. Thank you all for your continuous support.
If interested in working with us or if you simply want to find out more information about what we endeavor to bring to the over-all healthcare system, current/future projects and much more, please visit us at: www.goodhealtrust.org