Professional Development in Practice 4. (15 cr)

Learning outcomes

The student is able to
- assess the need for care and services of patients in different life stages and situations and to support their functional capacity and resources
- plan, implement and evaluate nursing care of patients at different life stages (child, young person, older person, a pregnant woman and a woman who has given birth, vulnerable clients) using evidence-based information and recommendations
- apply client-oriented working methods to identify factors that increase vulnerability and improve client’s inclusion
- assess and develop their interaction skills and care relationship with different client groups in demanding client and interaction situations
- implement and assess safe medication treatment, taking the special characteristics of the patient into consideration
- assess the patient's needs from the perspective of sexual and reproductive health and to address related issues with the patient
- analyse and assess service paths for paediatric patients, families, elderly and patients with disabilities and propose solutions to improve the efficiency of care and support
- assess the success of multiprofessional cooperation and use it for the benefit of the patients and their significant others
- guide patients regarding their care (for example clinical nursing, home care guidelines, medication treatment, etc.) in Finnish

Content

Theme: Evidence-based decision-making on clinical nursing in nursing of different age groups and vulnerable clients.

LbD assignment during placement: Evidence-based nursing
- auditing task/forming a clinical research question (e.g. PICO/PICoa/PCC)
- searching for research data, critical assessment and comparison of nursing practices, summarising conclusions and oral presentation in the practice environment.

Teaching methods

Practical training
Pediatrics 7 cr
Home care 7 cr
Maternity Care 1 cr

Directives: Childcare & Paediatrics, Home Health Care (incl. Community Care Night) and Maternity Care
All EU directives must be strictly completed before you graduate.
Traineeships under the Directive are carried out in clinical nursing (with the exception of the Maternity Care Directive)
The minimum practical training period is 3 weeks.

Theme: Evidence based decision making on clinical nursing in nursing of different age groups and vulnerable clients.

Employer connections

Practice environments

home care units and home hospital
care units for children and young people (e.g. family centres, children's and young people's wards and outpatient clinics)
organisations providing special support for children, young people and families (e.g. special education schools, child welfare services, asylum centres, refuges)
care environments for the elderly (e.g. geriatric outpatient clinics, elderly health clinics)
gynaecological inpatient wards and outpatient clinics (child care, nursing of the elderly, home care)
maternity units (e.g. labour wards, maternity outpatient clinics, maternity clinics).

Completion alternatives

It is possible for you to credit paid work as an practice if you are working as a substitute nurse. You can perform nursing tasks if you have completed 2/3 (140 ECTS credits) of the nursing degree. In practice, this means that crediting is possible from practice 4 onwards. The employer decides whether to hire you for tasks requiring a bachelor's degree and signs a employment contract with you. Always agree on the crediting of work-based learning in advance with your own teacher tutor, the responsible teacher for the practice period, or the placement coordinator.

How do you fulfill the maternity care directive?

Option 1. Clinical practice in maternity care environments. In this case, the student reserves one additional week of practice and completes an additional number of hours equivalent to one credit (26.7 hours) during the placement. A total of 9 weeks are reserved for the 4th placement.

Please note that, for example, in the USA, to fulfill the EU directive in maternity care, practical training in a maternity care environment must be at least 3 weeks. For licensure, the nursing degree must be equivalent to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in the United States, covering all specialties in theory and practice. If you intend to pursue an international career, we recommend acquiring competence in accordance with the maternity care directive through practical training in a maternity care environment.

If you plan to work in the future for example in the USA, Canada, or Australia, in that case, your Finnish nursing license will not be accepted due to the lack of clinical practice hours in Maternity Care.To be able to work abroad (e.g. at least in the USA, Canada, or Australia) one must have a nursing education and license compared to the receiving countries' requirements. This usually happens by contacting an agent in the receiving country and the agent will request Laurea UAS to fill in a set of paperwork, where the whole nursing program is explained and broken into study hours and practices. In Laurea, Head of Student Affairs Riikka Mulder is the one who fills in these documents.

Option 2. If a student is unable to secure a maternity care placement, they can participate in a separate 1-credit implementation (attendance required). Maternity care competence is acquired through theoretical exposure to maternity care environments. In this case, a total of 8 weeks are reserved for the 4th placement.

Student workload

The total number of hours of practical training 4 is 401 h = 15 cr

Practical training info and reflection 5 h
Practical training LbD assignment Nursing interaction skills 8 h.
Clinical Training in a Nursing Environment = 338 h

The practical training takes place in home care and in the environment of family nursing, for example. 5 + 5 or 4 + 6, that is, a total of 10 weeks.
You can do the internships in the order you want, i.e. you can choose which environment you go to first.

Evaluation scale

Approved/Failed

Qualifications

The student has actively participated in the study unit "Medication Treatment and Medication Calculations 4." and has passed the medication calculations prior to the clinical practice placement starts.

Further information

Previous studies
Modules 1-4 theory studies mainly completed
Medication calculations exam passed

You must present a criminal record check before the internship if your placement involves working significantly with minors, like pediatrics.

Health report and presentation of vaccination information in accordance with FSHS guidelines at the beginning of practical training in pediatrics.

Measles vaccination: two doses received or disease
Pertussis vaccine dtap (booster every 5 years) if working in facilities where children under 1 year of age are treated. Dtap vaccination is given only after 2 years have passed since the last dT vaccination.
Chickenpox vaccine x 2 or history of the disease
Seasonal influenza vaccine (November-April)
In addition, hepatitis B vaccination x 3 is recommended, with the first two doses given before the internship.

Please note that the vaccination typically takes effect 21 days after it has been taken, so take care of it in time before training begins!