Multicultural nursing student teams will start their internships at Hospital Nova in ward 6 at the end of October. Later, internships will also begin in three other cooperation departments. The activities are part of the OVE-practical training project, launched in spring 2024 and co-funded by the European Union. The project is implemented by the Jamk University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with the wellbeing services county of Central Finland. Practical training begins first in inpatient wards Nova 6 and Nova 5 and later in two specialised health care wards. The project is ongoing until the end of February 2027.
"We have an expectant and inspiring atmosphere regarding the internship. The department is already familiar with module training, but what is new is the increase in the number of students and the guidance of multicultural teams. There is a development-friendly attitude among nurses. The good thing about this internship is that in addition to clinical goals, goals have also been set for the development of language skills," says Johanna Leino, head nurse at Nova 6.
Multicultural team mentoring for nursing
The aim of the project is to develop a new kind of multicultural model for module training in the wellbeing services county of Central Finland. In module training, students work in teams of 3–4 people and practical training is implemented as a long 8-week internship that supports Finnish language learning. As the internship weeks progress, the activities change from instructor-led activities towards student-led activities.
"The aim is to strengthen and harmonise the guidance skills of practical training instructors towards mentoring a multicultural team. Team learning and the development of peer tutoring are central to the activities of student teams. Jamk's project team experts are also present at the stand on a weekly basis to support the work community," says Project Manager Tuija Kontinen.
During the autumn, preparations for the start of internships have been made through joint planning with the department and coaching of the work community. The topics of the coaching have been diversity in the work community, multiculturalism, language awareness, clear language and guiding a multicultural team.
"Multicultural and multilingual work communities and their management are relatively new nationally and require cooperation," says Sara Tuisku, who works as an expert in language learning in the project.
The long-term goal is to alleviate the shortage of labour in the care sector in Central Finland and to harness the potential of international experts in nursing.
