“At HUS, orientation and systematic training for maintaining professional competence are crucial. In specialist medical care, competence is what it’s all about,” says Chief Nursing Officer Anna-Maija Kaira from the HUS Abdominal Center.
Nursing work at HUS is developed according to the Magnet Hospital model. Practice Transition Accreditation Programs (PTAP) is being set up as support for orientation. These will make personnel orientation and training more uniform. PTAPs also highlight the organization’s appreciation of its employees.
PTAPs are an addition to the existing orientation structure. For example, the advanced orientation program contains general competence topics for everyone along with department-specific orientation and specialty-specific competence improvement. All this is based on professional career models, such as the Aura model for nurses.
Professional career models support the systematic evaluation of competence and professional development while laying the groundwork for broadening job descriptions and for expert roles. Mentoring is used to facilitate professional improvement. Competence development includes supporting and encouraging employees to find external professional training.
Cooperation molds new nursing experts
HUS offers universities of applied sciences diverse high-quality job training opportunities in specialist medical care. Another purpose for this cooperation is to contribute to the planning and development of education and training in the social welfare and health care sector. Dialogue between the health care system and the education system is also sought along with collaboration among and dialogue between experts. Moreover, student cooperation is a recruitment channel.
HUS is working with Metropolia University of Applied Sciences to create a trainee path in nursing. When students apply for nurse training, they may opt to specialize for instance as an operating room nurse. Their education and practical training are designed to support their chosen learning path. Students are given opportunities for doing practical work on wards immediately after graduation.
“We are constantly under a demand to be up-to-date. Nursing must be evidence-based, and this places enormous challenges on nursing development and training,” says Kaira.