Arcada and Diak start unique bilingual nursing programme

Arcada and Diak universities of applied sciences will start a Finnish-Swedish bilingual nursing programme in the autumn of 2020. The students in the programme carry out half of the studies in Swedish and half in Finnish. The purpose of the programme is to meet the urgent need of nurses who can provide health care in both of Finland’s official languages.

- Nurses in Finland work in a multilingual environment. The best possible care also means that everyone gets health care in their own native language, and therefore it is of utmost importance that nurses can switch easily between at least Swedish and Finnish, says Dr Maria Forss, head of the Department of Healthcare at Arcada.

- There is a large shortage of bilingual nurses in the metropolitan region and throughout southern Finland. Diak’s and Arcada’s joint programme provides students with knowledge in health care but also with language skills, says Paula Koistinen, head of the Healthcare field at Diak.

In addition till bilingualism, one of the main strengths of the new programme is its flexibility. The programme is conducted both online and in the classroom, which means that it is also suitable for those who are already in working life.

- There is a need for new ways to study nursing, so that students more easily can combine studies with family life and work. Flexible studies mean that also slightly older people are given the opportunity to get an additional education. At Arcada, we already have years of experience in online education – supervising and supporting students remotely is an established part of our teaching. Together with Diak, we can do this in two languages, says Forss.

The application period for the Finnish-Swedish programme in Nursing is 18.3-1.4.2020. Read more about the programme here.