About three quarters of young nurses are considering changing careers, according to a study conducted by the Finnish Nurses’ Association during the coronavirus period.
There is already a shortage of nurses and nurses in Finland. According to Kela, about a third of practical nurses and a quarter of nurses will retire over the next decade.
In addition, the number of young people seeking carers is declining. Last spring, nearly 8,700 students applied for nursing education – 3,500 less than five years ago.
In fact, nurses were on the list of impatient occupations, and practical nurses were in sixth place, according to a labor barometer published by local employment offices in August.
Caregivers complain about poor pay
The main reason for carers’ dissatisfaction is the low salary, said a recent study by the Finnish Association of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy).
The basic salary of a newly graduated nurse is about 2,500 euros. It is about 700 euros less than in Sweden or Denmark and more than 1500 euros less than a hospital engineer working in the same job for the same length of training.
Young respondents to the Tehy survey criticized low wages in the care sector, staff shortages, and especially mental workload.
"We young people know that we have the right to demand better working conditions. People in the care industry are too used to the fact that work is now what it is," said Marika Eira, A 20-year-old practical nurse from Oulu.
The coronavirus crisis exacerbated the situation
According to Eira, in addition to busy working hours and demanding work, the anxiety and fear caused by the coronavirus crisis proved to be the last straw – he has decided to resign and study in another field.
"I’m worried about the fact that during koronavirusjakson is taken for granted that the nurses are doing more work and reveal themselves and their families," he said.
Due to the provisions of the emergency authority that came into force from spring to summer this year, many caregivers had to postpone or cancel leave, overtime, or change priority jobs.
It is more difficult for young caregivers
The pandemic situation was particularly difficult for younger caregivers, studies revealed.
According to Tehy, 76 percent of young caregivers feel that the coronavirus crisis has worsened their well-being at work.
Another study by the Finnish Nurses’ Association revealed that nurses under the age of 35 experienced stress, anxiety, despair, guilt and worry about their own tolerance for pressure more often than their older colleagues.
Anu Kaihlanen, THL’s specialist researcher studied the so-called "transition shock" experienced younger nurses. Suddenly, increased responsibility and increased workload take many newly beaten caregivers by surprise and force some of them to reconsider their career paths.
Kaihlanen estimates that the coronavirus crisis will exacerbate the shock, as the workplace orientation was more busy due to the pandemic situation and the young caregivers got into a deep head too early.
"The corona situation is also likely to have made it clear to many that pay levels are not very high, but that careers often involve a heavy workload and high occupational risk," Kaihlanen added.
Eira said she wants to return to the industry in the future, but not until things change.
"There is constant talk of nurses and nurses are trained annually. But maybe now we need to think more about how to ensure that caregivers who are already in this field stay there" Eira said.
Source: The Nordic Page