A record number of community nurses and other health care professionals are now demanding the abolition of their profession, the National Board of Health and Welfare (Valvira) says.
The Authority has already granted 30 withdrawals, of which more than 20 are still pending.
"In the past, we received about 20 applications in a full year," Director of Valvira Kirsi Liukkonen said, adding that the number of applications received in 2022 is higher than the total number of applications received in recent years.
Regardless of the completion of their education, healthcare professionals must apply for the right to practice their profession in Finland or the right to use a protected professional title. All applications are processed by Valvira.
Sometimes professionals will ask you to revoke your license. According to Liukkonen, typical reasons are retirement, health reasons or a change of profession.
Although such cases are rare, former healthcare professionals may wish to request the return of their license.
Pandemic and patient safety law behind frustration
Both the pandemic and the controversial Patient Safety Act are believed to be behind the recent rise in redundancy requests.
Last Friday, about 25,000 nurses across Finland staged a march in protest of poor wages and working conditions. Researcher in social and health policy Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen says the recent debate suggests that nurses are dissatisfied with the government ‘s focus on safety law rather than addressing the real causes of health care shortages.
The pandemic has also seen numerous workers, especially public sector workers, change careers due to difficult working conditions and exhaustion.
Source: The Nordic Page