Conducted the 1st batch of Training in Japan.

From 26^th November to 5^th December 2023, 10-day Training in Japan had been conducted. Bangladeshi trainees visited Japan to learn the importance of improving the quality of nursing education and its methods through the efforts of the Japanese nursing profession in administration, nursing colleges, hospitals, and communities, and to apply the knowledge to nursing administration and resource development in their own countries. A total of 13 trainees from the principles of the target nursing colleges, two collaborative hospitals, the Department of Medical Education and Family Welfare of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council participated in the program. The trainees learned about the history of nursing in Japan, the nursing education system, career paths for nurses, and other initiatives in hospitals and community nursing from lectures and site visits, and deepened discussions and communication with relevant personnel.

The first three days of the program were spent in Tokyo, visiting the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Japanese Nursing Association, Japan Visiting Nursing Foundation, and Japan Association of Nursing Programs in Universities (JANPU) and Japan Accreditation Board for Nursing Education (JABNE) to learn about the origins and systems of nursing education in Japan and the approaches of nursing administration. From the fourth day of the training program, the trainees visited a nursing college and hospital in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, to deepen their knowledge. They learned the education systems of the Kobe City College of Nursing, including the practice of nursing students at the college, as well as the clinical practice of nursing students and the activities of nursing professionals at the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, one of the sites of clinical practice for nursing students in the Kobe City College of Nursing. They also observed the community health activities of nurses at the Kobe City Public Health Center. The Bangladeshi trainees learned activities in Japan from the observations since the management and educational system in the clinical nursing practices still needed to be strengthened, and nurses’ career paths are limited in Bangladesh.

On the last day of the training, the trainees were divided into three groups, nursing administration, nursing education, and hospital management and clinical practice group. Based on what they learned during the Japan training, they prepared and presented action plans to apply to nursing administration and nursing human resource development in their countries. Dr. Hiroko Minami, who is chair of the Project Assistance Committee in Japan, and Ms. Mitsuko Maruyama, a member of the committee, attended the presentation, and at the end of the session, they commented that they had high expectations for the future development of nursing education and clinical practice system in Bangladesh.

Through this training, some of the trainees are already preparing to work on the action plan as soon as they return to Bangladesh, which is expected to have a positive effect on improving the quality of nursing education in Bangladesh. The project is planning to conduct the second training in Japan in the autumn of 2024 with the expectation that the training will be even more effective.