On the occasion of the nurses’ week activities in the scope of the International Nurses Day 2018, the Finnish Nurses Association invited all the members of their parliament to visit different health care organizations to see nurses’ work in practice. 14 out of 200 members of the parliament took the challenge to dress-up in nurses’ clothes and to have “a shift as a nurse”, for a couple of hours. The idea was to give first-hand experience and information on what is the content and meaning of nurses’ work and the challenges they face.
The Finnish Nurses Association office also made visits to different organisations and gave the Members of the Parliament some written material, e.g. on current main challenges and results of a survey to 1.000 Finns on their attitudes towards nurses and nursing, in which 98% said that nurses do valuable work. The Finnish Nurses Association finally gave out a media release, shared in their social media with pictures and texts the variety of nurses’ work description, and got media interested and several articles on different national and local newspapers.
Middle Finland Central Hospital in Jyväskylä. From left: RNs Katri Lilja, Mari Manninen, Sari Pätsi, and Member of Parliament Sinuhe Wallinheimo, who took a shift in the emergency ward.
Medical Emergency Team (MET) nurses Asko Mikkonen and CNS Minna Peltomaa from Tampere University Hospital ICU. In addition to work in ICU they make e.g. outreach visits to consult other wards with their patients.
Helsinki University Hospital, skin and allergy hospital, RNs Mirja-Liisa Sipola, Kirsi Tuomisalo and Satu Koskinen. Like at any other specialized care units, the nurses here have very special competencies and also some advanced roles.
Nursing home Malminniitty in Vantaa. From left: MPs Antti Kaikkonen, Mia Laiho, Johanna Karimäki and FNA President Nina Hahtela. The MPs had the opportunity to specially learn about the nursing of the patients with Alzheimer and other memory diseases – a growing field.
Mäntykoti elderly care home in Oulu. From left: LPN Mikko Otsamo, RN Marja-Liisa Mettovaara and MP Tytti Tuppurainen.
Middle Finland Central Hospital in Jyväskylä, first aid. RNs Olli Keisala and Riikka Kuusinen inspecting the vital signs of a patient with a stroke and RN paramedic Hanna Seijari giving a report. Picture by Agata Anttonen, from an article on a local newspaper – “A working place where you have to withstand pressure”.