Finnish Students Share their Impressions from their Internship at KNTB
1. October 2024Practical internships and study placements abroad are a great bonus to take advantage of during your university studies.
The Erasmus+ programme also offers these opportunities reciprocally to foreign students who, on the other hand, are looking for further opportunities for their professional and personal development in our country. A good example of this is the practical placement of two Finnish students, Joonas and Kaipo, from Tampere University. The general nursing students chose to cooperate with the Faculty of Humanities within the Erasmus+ programme, which provided them with a practical internship at the Tomáš Bat’a Regional Hospital in Zlín.
The Czech Republic was an obvious choice for them. They especially appreciated the varied offer in the field of medical education and the approach of the FHS, which also allowed them to complete the internship in English only and did not require a deeper knowledge of Czech. During their stay in Zlín, Joonas and Kaipo gained new practical skills and personally experienced some medical procedures that they had not been able to do in Finland before. They went through a variety of departments from the Emergency Department to Surgery, Anaesthesiology, Resuscitation, and Intensive Care, to the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department. The broad scope of the internship allowed them to get a clearer picture of the Czech healthcare system and compare the healthcare systems of both countries. As they report, the Finnish and Czech healthcare systems are comparable in many respects, yet they also noticed some key differences such as the higher level of digitalization in Finland or the seemingly free healthcare in the Czech Republic.
They also faced several challenges while working in the hospital, and although they probably did not expect it, the most difficult obstacle for them was the language barrier. In the end, however, they were able to deal with this problem and greatly appreciated the friendly atmosphere and support they received from the local medical staff.
What impression did the city of Zlín, our university or the internship at the hospital make on Joonas and Kaipa? They shared this with us during a short interview:
“Our first impression of the local hospital was very good. All the staff were very helpful and friendly despite the language barrier. The biggest challenge was, of course, our lack of knowledge of the Czech language and also the system of hourly shifts, which took us some time to get used to because we don’t work in this system in Finland.”
You spent two intensive months in the hospital. What did you get to experience during that time? Have you gained any new experience?
“We have definitely managed to improve some skills and medical procedures. For example, we practiced thoroughly catheterization and blood sampling. We had not visited some departments in Finland before during our internship and it was interesting to get our first experience here in Zlín. We were also interested in the working methods and approaches of the nurses in the different wards. It was definitely a great benefit to participate in several operations, of which we must mention at least the robotic abdominal surgery, during which we literally looked over the surgeon’s shoulder.”
Did you notice any major differences between the Finnish and Czech healthcare systems?
“In general, it’s quite similar. Both have the same services and facilities. If we look at it from an administrative point of view, the Finnish health system is more digitised, but we were told that digitisation is gradually being worked on at Bata Hospital. However, we were very surprised that healthcare in the Czech Republic is mostly free, while in Finland it is charged.”
You said that the biggest obstacle in your work was the language barrier. How did you handle this problem?
“Unfortunately, we speak very little Czech, and we only learned a few basic phrases before we left. We would have liked to communicate more with the patients, but because of this deficit we were not able to express our emotions and the necessary empathy to the patients. We think that our colleagues have some command of English, but they have not often found the courage to approach us. Therefore, we communicated mostly through our mentor, so we would recommend foreign trainees to take an introductory Czech language course beforehand.”
How would you describe the cultural differences between Finland and the Czech Republic?
“There are actually no shocking cultural differences. We jokingly say that Finland has a meat-and-potatoes culture, and it’s practically the same here. Of course, because of its geographic location, the Czech Republic is more culturally connected to its neighbouring countries, while Finland is a bit isolated in the north.”
What activities or places in Zlín and its surroundings interested you the most?
“We like the quiet atmosphere of the small town. We perceive the balance between urban areas and nature, and we like that most things are within walking distance. The public transport is very good even if you need to get a little further out of the centre. Zlín is also a surprisingly good starting point if you want to travel easily to other more distant capitals in Central Europe.”
As stated by the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities of UTB and coordinator of these internships PhDr. Mgr. Petr Snopek, PhD. MBA, thanks to the cooperation with the Tomáš Bat’a Regional Hospital, this is neither the first nor the last time interns from abroad will be at the hospital. “Last autumn, a similar internship was successfully completed by students from France, and we have already noticed a huge interest for the upcoming academic semesters.”