ASTHA organised a Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Community Paramedic (CP) Course

ASTHA is committed to support and promote the growth and development of the CPTIs for quality education of the CPs, so that the training of the CP course students is ultimately enhanced. As part of this commitment, the project conducted a need assessment of CPTIs which got approval recently, to build up the capacity of their teachers. The goal is to capacitate the trainees to organise such events in their respective institutions by themselves. It is expected that they will share the learnings with their colleagues and deliver the CP course to the students effectively. 

In light of this, from 2 to 7 June 2024, ASTHA organised a six-day training of trainers with 16 participants from six CPTIs. These were Anowara Begum Community Paramedic Training Institute from Barishal; Birampur Community Paramedic Institute (BCPI) from Dinajpur; Hasna Hena Training Institute from Gaibandha; Skeleton Advanced Community Paramedic Institute from Bogura; Uttoron Community Paramedic Institute from Nilphamari, and White Pearl College from Moulvibazar. 

The training focused on various modules of the CP curriculum. The topics included anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, family planning, gender, reproductive health, childcare, communicable and non-communicable diseases (CDs and NCDs), limited curative care (LCC), extended programme of immunization (EPI), and so on. 

Md. Nasir Uddin, the Registrar of Bangladesh Nursing and Midwifery Council (BNMC), attended the training as the Special Guest, providing both the opening and closing remarks. He expressed his enthusiasm about the training and urged to strengthen the content of the CP curriculum, which will reinforce the skills of the Community Paramedics serving the communities at the grassroots level. He said, “These kinds of trainings are really important for the skill development of trainers. They also help to increase their confidence levels.” He interacted with all the participants, thanked them for joining, and hoped that they can give something back to their institutions after the end of the training. 

The lead training facilitator, Dr. Md. Moinul Haque, is a veteran in the healthcare field with decades of experience. He guided the trainees on designing and implementing training programmes, a trainer’s roles, guidelines for CP course curriculum, and entrepreneurship in healthcare services. He also conducted sessions on CDs and NCDs, EPI, adolescent health, nutrition, etc. Furthermore, two facilitators conducted sessions on anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology; family planning, reproductive health, safe motherhood, and integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI), while another facilitator conducted a session on the use of IT in health. 

The participants engaged themselves in lectures, groupworks, and other interactive activities throughout the training, such as recaps, role-play exercises, and presentations on topics such as anatomy, EPI, etc. One of the participants from BCPI expressed his satisfaction about the training, “Such trainings are really effective for us. They need to be organised more often.”