Promote nursing to get better health outcomes, Japanese nursing leader tells Bangladesh

A Japanese nursing leader has suggested that Bangladesh promote nursing as a profession for better health outcomes.

Prof Hiroko Minami says she sees “passion” among the Bangladeshi nurses to overcome the challenges they face in the profession.

According to her, nurses now need support from the government and the people in general for their education and quality control.

The President of University of Kochi, Minami, was talking to bdnews24.com after her interactions with the nurses at Dhaka Nursing College on Monday.

She is visiting Bangladesh as part of Japan’s project to help strengthen Bangladesh’s nursing services.

Nursing is not attractive a profession in Bangladesh despite its critical need in healthcare services. The country has one nurse against two doctors, though the ideal ratio should be 3:1.

Until recently, it has been a class III profession. The incumbent government has upgraded it to class II.

Minami, who was the president of International Nursing Council in 2005, said shortage of nurses was a “critical problem” in Bangladesh.

“I think if you have good nurses to promote quality of services, your health condition will get much better and in a faster way,” she observed.

She is well-known for her contribution in Japanese nursing development, and is the founder of the first doctoral programme and mental health nursing specialist programme in Japan.

She led a Japanese delegation in May 2013 to Bangladesh and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and senior officials of the government and nursing professionals.

That visit prompted the government to submit a proposal seeking Japanese help for improving nursing services.

Japan responded to that request and its development arm, JICA, tied up with the health ministry on a project.

Prof Minami is the chair of the JICA Technical Advisory Committee which is working on this project.

She said when she was a young student 50 years ago, nursing was not an attractive profession in Japan either.

“…nursing was not seen as a highly accepted profession. We used to be seen as assistants to physicians. It’s a small work. I had a lot of frustration about it,” she recalled.

But patients and their families had started realising the need of the job when she started doing good work.

“Some of them started to speak out who is the most important,” she said, stressing on touching the hearts of the people with the services.

She also urged Bangladesh media to highlight the good stories of nurses which she believed would be “much helpful for nurses to overcome their frustrations”.

“They (nurses) want to improve nursing care in this country. They want to be appreciated by the government and the people,” Prof Minami said about her interactions with the nurses before the interview.

She said the government also has “a big role to play”.

“It’s important to make the law. We have to have a good law to protect the nursing practice and promote nursing position.”

Quality assurance is “most important issue”.

“All professionals including physicians and nurses who have the responsibility to serve the people, and those who are receiving services from them, quality assurance is a critical one for them,” she continued.

She said people have also the right to demand quality services for their safety and care.

“What is most important is that the government has to be convinced and there has to be law to protect the people as well as protect professionals.

“Otherwise, quality assurance cannot be accomplished.”

She stressed on education as well as leadership. Administrators have to learn about quality and public have to know their right to claim, right to aks for quality care.

But Prof Minami insisted that while developing the nursing curriculum to match international standards, local context must be reflected.

She also thanked the prime minister for promoting the nursing position to class II.

“I met her three years ago and she was very keen on seeing the development of nursing in the country.”