Working together for a
day!
International Clinical Nursing Skills Station day @TAMK School of Health Care
The incoming nursing exchange
students met with Finnish nursing students to work on clinical skills
stations together to practice different basic nursing procedures, and to figure
out what are the differences between foreign and Finnish nursing on a sunny August day.
We were divided into groups of four people with two
Finnish students and two exchange students. The exchange students were from
different European countries. We had eight different stations where could
practice different kind of nursing skills.
The skills stations of the day:
- Intra muscular and subcutaneous injections: Different injection methods, palpating the right injection site
- Blood pressure measurement
- Medication documentation: How Finnish nurses document
- Transportation instruments: Fire evacuation map, useful devices for moving and handling a patient
- Breathing and airways: Suctioning of the upper airways, administering oxygen and different types of oxygen masks
- Nasogastric tube insertion: Assessment and procedure process and making sure of the correct location
- Urine catheterization: Assessment and procedure process and comparing different techniques
- Coffee break: Drinking coffee together and learning to know each other
The experience to share and compare our nursing skills
with Finnish students was interesting and really useful for our future nursing
careers. We had the chance to learn how Finnish nurse students practice before
going to our clinical training at the hospitals. We could then explain how
foreign students perform basic nursing procedures in our home countries. It was
a pleasure to meet the Finnish nursing students and share the know-how of
nursing skills!
The most interesting thing was to practice with
Finnish students and to see the different actions, for example in case of a fire
evacuation. Almost none of the foreign students knew about fire evacuation of
the patients in a hospital. We also had the chance to teach each other nursing
skills that we didn’t know before. The exchange students taught the Finnish
students how to measure blood pressure and they showed us how they have learned
to give intra muscular injections.
The exchange students were able to see the methods and
resources that Finnish students have to learn and also the high level of
education that they have in nursing. The exchange students were amazed by the
amount of resources that Finnish nurses/students have at their disposal at
their school. Some exchange students have never seen this kind of equipment and
material on hospital wards in their own country, like the wheel platform on the
floor to transfer people, the emergency blanket or the pre-prepared kits for
urine catheterization.
One of the most important things that Finnish students
shared with us, was the way that they prepare medication for their patients.
This will contribute to the exchange students when they prepare medication in
the hospital in the future.
Lastly we would say that the only thing we would
change about the day is to have more opportunities like this! We need more time and opportunities to share knowledge both ways, since that will allow everyone to practice better
nursing care. We can join both foreigner and Finnish knowledge in nursing. And
as a conclusion we would say that it was really interesting to see how
different countries work and that there is not only one right way in proper
nursing care.
Best regards, Thalea,
Bruno & Mireia
Teachers of the day: Sanna Laiho, Nina Smolander & Elina
Botha, TAMK School of Health Care
