Emergency Care

The Degree Programme in Emergency Care is multidisciplinary – care and medicine are equal fields of knowledge and the curriculum is built upon this dualistic way of thinking. The Regsitered Nurse degree is included in the programme. The students are approved for the programme in emergency care at the start of studies.

The main purpose of the degree programme is to educate paramedics who are able to give pre-hospital emergency care at an advanced level, involving being able to start intensive/advanced care independently according to treatment protocols, and of being able to maintain and secure the vital functions of the patient with a medical condition or a severely injured patient, at the scene, during transportation and at the hospital.

Fields of competence within the degree programme

The fields of competence within the degree programme in emergency care and paramedical science are health care, medical care and emergency care. The paramedics also become registered nurses. The values of caring, the ethical principles of nursing and the legal framework guide the paramedics’ work. The students focus their studies on all branches of emergency care and paramedical science and become experts within their own area of competence, the core curriculum for emergency care and paramedical science.

The competence field in emergency care and paramedical science includes skills which ensure that:

• the paramedic has the knowledge and ability to evaluate the situation and to make work diagnoses and start, maintain and secure the patient’s vital functions
• the paramedic can treat a patient with a life threatening condition according to treatment protocols or according to directives given by a physician after consultation
• the paramedic can use modern communication technologies, emergency care equipment, medication used in an emergency setting, and can utilize advanced emergency care interventions if needed
• the  paramedic can cooperate with other authorities, such as physicians, the police, firefighters and volunteer organizations during emergency situations
• the paramedic has a knowledge of decision-making processes and the leadership skills needed in different accident and casualty situations
• the paramedic can treat and instruct patients of all ages, taking into account their cultural background, social and religious affiliation

Studies in emergency care

Network cooperation

The Degree Programme in Emergency Care includes a course in “Advanced Emergency Care” which is conducted in cooperation with the medical faculty of the University of Helsinki, the department of anaesthesia and intensive medicine. Students from the degree programme in emergency care and medical students pursue the same studies, 15 credits (ECTS), in advanced emergency care and learn how to cooperate and learn from each other so that they can understand the other´s special skills that are needed in emergency situations. The degree programme in emergency care maintains close contact with parties in the field and has a working relationship with different authorities. The fire departments in the Helsinki area, the Emergency Services College in Kuopio, police departments in Espoo, Jarvenpaa and Vantaa, the Finnish defence forces in Hameenlinna and the Frontier Guard in Helsinki are important partners.

Quality assurance

A new model for quality assurance has been developed in the degree programme in order to ensure the substantive development of emergency care. The students have theoretical and practical tests to ensure the attainment of a certain standard of knowledge of emergency care at basic and advanced levels. The tests at a basic level are conducted at the Emergency Services College in Kuopio and the tests at an advanced level at Arcada by utilizing the Arcada Medical Simulation Center. The test at an advanced level is a link in the development of a national test for paramedics.

Practical training

The practical training component of studies constitutes 75 ECTS credits and is supervised, which means that the student has a named supervisor both from the school and the place at which he or she is training. These 75 ECTS credits include all practical training needed for both the paramedic and the registered nurse degree. The practical training is mainly done in hospitals and at fire departments/ambulances in the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa. The students can also do some of the practical training abroad. The practical training is done during the whole study period. Theoretical and practical teaching constitute educational totalities that get more and more complex as the student advances in his or her studies.

The practical training that promotes the paramedics core curriculum is done at these units:

• the ambulance service at basic and advanced levels
• on emergency wards, namely at the emergency room, intensive care units and cardiac care units

Other special units that are used for practical training are the medical units of the defense force and the frontier guard, in addition to police units in Espoo, Vantaa and Jarvenpaa.

Extension studies

Extension studies begin at period 11 during the third year of studies and include both theoretical and practical studies as well as independent studies. Extension studies give the student the opportunity to choose a certain speciality and gain in-depth knowledge of that speciality at an advanced level.