A specializing physician is fascinated by the diversity of the field of pulmonary medicine

Anna, a graduate of the University of Helsinki, became interested in the work of a pulmonary specialist during her first summer after earning her Bachelor of Medicine degree. This fascinating field ultimately won her over while she was working as extra hands on a pulmonary ward treating COVID-19 patients in the spring of 2020.

“I appreciate the diversity of this field, ranging from palliative care to the diagnostic evaluation of rare diseases.” Symptoms of lung diseases, such as shortness of breath, are often quite comprehensive. In this field, you get to treat the patient as a whole. “The positive work atmosphere at the pulmonary clinics has also played an important role in my choice of specialty.”

Seeing a tangible response to treatment is rewarding

Anna completed the clinical rotation that is part of her specialty training at the Meilahti and Jorvi Hospitals. She is currently gaining experience in internal medicine at Haartman Hospital, where she has worked in the emergency department as well as in the emergency and internal medicine wards. The new colleague has been greeted with a warm welcome.

“At every workplace, I have received excellent guidance from my skilled and encouraging senior physicians—not only in medicine, but also in my professional development and growth as an expert.” “Whenever I have started at a new place, it’s been easy to get familiar with the way things are done there, thanks to the guidance of the entire multiprofessional team,” Anna says.

The job description for a physician specializing in pulmonary medicine includes working on the ward as well as performing procedures such as bronchoscopies, outpatient clinic work, and on-call duty.

“The work is meaningful and varied, and no two days are exactly alike.” A large part of the work involves long-term efforts to address risk factors or optimize medication to prevent future relapses. “There are often moments during the day when you see a tangible response to treatment—for example, when a patient’s shortness of breath eases.”

Even outside of patient interactions, the work is very social. Anna values close collaboration among her fellow physicians and other professionals.

Doctoral dissertation on the recovery of COVID-19 patients

While treating critically ill coronavirus patients, Anna found herself wondering how the patients’ recovery would progress after they were discharged from the hospital. On the pulmonary diseases ward, she had the idea for a follow-up study, which naturally lent itself to a doctoral dissertation project.

Three intense years of work on the dissertation paid off when the research was completed in May 2023. The support provided by the instructors played an important role in the success of the project.

“The schedule—or the entire project, for that matter—certainly wouldn’t have been possible without my outstanding instructors who were enthusiastic about the research project from the very beginning. Although I worked on my dissertation mainly alongside my clinical work, I was also able to take a lot of research leave and focus on my research full-time during that time,” Anna says.

The findings of the dissertation offer hope. Although some people who have had severe COVID-19 requiring hospitalization experience long-term reduced lung function, chest X-rays show that at least some of the imaging abnormalities continue to resolve even months later.

“In my view, another important finding was that the majority of those who had previously been employed had returned to work within two months after a severe case of COVID-19, and long-term disability was rare.”

Anna’s dissertation sparked her interest in continuing her research. She hopes to continue combining clinical work and research in the future.


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