Personal nurses help Helsinki residents requiring many services

Just over ten years ago, the staff of Pihlajamäki Health Station noticed that some of the health station’s patients would benefit from having their own dedicated healthcare professional rather than attending individual appointments. The health station decided to appoint a nurse who would focus specifically on seeing clients who require many services.

Public health nurse Svea Rudik took up this new post in the spring of 2016. Her role involved assessing the clients’ overall situation and taking responsibility for coordinating their care. Since then, the Pihlajamäki team of personal nurses has grown to include three more professionals: public health nurses Moska Obaidi and Vilja Uusitontti and registered nurse Anniina Rantala. Svea now serves as their supervisor. 

– Over the last few years, the number of clients requiring a wide range of services has increased. On the other hand, the health station has also become better at identifying clients who would benefit from a personal nurse, says Svea.

Every nurse-patient relationship begins with a consultation with the client 

The circumstances of clients who require a wide range of services are often complex. They may be experiencing several long-term physical illnesses, mental health challenges, substance abuse issues, violence within their immediate circle, unemployment or an otherwise difficult life situation all at the same time. 

The aim is for this intense period of work to be temporary and to pave the way for the future.

Whenever any of the health station’s professionals meets with a client who they think might benefit from a personal nurse, they contact the team of personal nurses. After this, either Anniina, Moska or Vilja will contact the client to enquire whether they would be willing to work with a personal nurse. 

– We don’t force anyone to become a client; our work with clients always begins with their consent, explains public health nurse Vilja. 
 

The personal nurse always arranges an initial meeting with the client, during which they assess the situation as thoroughly as possible, draw up a treatment plan together with the client and agree on how they will stay in touch from then on. 

– I always ask the client whether they'd prefer to communicate with me by phone, via Maisa messages, via remote meetings or in person. I think it’s important to choose the method that the client finds most beneficial, says Moska. 

Vilja, Anniina and Moska explain that, in the early stages, communication with the client is often frequent, but as the nurse-patient relationship develops, the situation often settles down. 

– The aim is for this intense period of work to be temporary and to pave the way for the future. However, the length of the relationship depends very much on the client’s circumstances and the nature of the challenges they are facing, Moska says.

The personal nurse ties everything together 

Coordinating the care of clients who require a wide range of services involves investigating many different matters, integrating services and treatments and supporting the client every step of the way.

– The client’s situation determines where I seek help. For example, I can get in touch with mental health services, senior services, employment services, a social worker or substance abuse services, Vilja says. 

I find this work really rewarding because I get to see my own clients’ situations progress.

For almost all of these clients, social services play an important role, and health care services alone are not enough. This is why Pihlajamäki’s professionals take a multi-professional approach to planning care. They hold weekly meetings to discuss the clients’ situations in cooperation with services such as substance abuse services, occupational therapy, employment services and social welfare. 

– Together, we work out what the client would benefit from the most, says Anniina. 
 

The work is demanding but rewarding

Vilja, Moska and Anniina describe their work as varied and demanding. Clients’ situations are often stressful for the professional as well, and take up a great deal of time. Nevertheless, the sense of purpose the work brings makes the nurses speak warmly of their jobs. 

– I find this work really rewarding because I get to see my own clients’ situations progress. I get to see the full arc of how it develops. I’d be happy to take on even more work as a personal nurse, says Vilja. 

– As a professional, the most rewarding thing about this work is seeing how much of a difference my work makes, Anniina continues. 

Svea, the supervisor, is well aware of how demanding the job is. According to her, the workload is eased by the fact that the nurses also carry out other health station duties from time to time. This also ensures that their other skills – such as those required for on-call work – do not become rusty. 

– I believe that carrying out other types of tasks from time to time helps our personal nurses maintain a balance in their daily work, she says.