Paediatric and Adolescent Surgery Ward and Day Surgery

Patients under 18 years of age are not charged outpatient clinic fees nor daily inpatient fees for the part exceeding seven (7) chargeable days of treatment in a calendar year. Please see client fees.

Parents are free to visit our ward and participate in the care of the child or adolescent as far as possible. Siblings, friends and other loved ones are welcome to visit our ward a few visitors at a time. Visiting hours are 9–21.

Our ward is a "clean ward", so you cannot visit our ward when you are ill (e.g. flu). We also ask visitors to avoid using perfumes before coming to our ward.

One parent can stay overnight by the child on our ward. The hospital also offers other free-of-charge options for accommodation. For more information on these options, please contact your treatment planner during office hours.

Various professionals from different  sectors may be involved in the treatment of a child or adolescent. We work in close cooperation with a physiotherapist and a rehabilitation counsellor, among others. If necessary, we turn to other occupational groups.

Doctor’s rounds are 9.00–10.00 am on Mondays and 8.00–9.00 am on other weekdays. At other times, doctors work either in the paediatric and adolescent operating theatre or in the outpatient clinics of paediatric and adolescent surgery. At weekends, on-call doctors make rounds during the morning.

Craft instructors visit our ward every weekday. Hospital clowns visit our ward regularly. If necessary, the hospital school teacher will provide the child or adolescent of compulsory school age with basic education. You can contact the rehabilitation counsellor in matters of social security during office hours on tel. 02 313 2481.

Our ward has patient rooms with 1–2 beds.  In addition, our ward has small separate areas for children’s play and for parents’ coffee breaks and mealtimes.

When coming to our ward, it is a good idea to pack the child’s or adolescent’s

• personal hygiene products
• favourite toy
• personal medication prescribed for an underlying condition (for example, asthma or epilepsy medication), and
• loose-fitting and comfortable clothes for the journey home.

The hospital staff have a duty of confidentiality. Primarily, we share patient data only with the parents.

Our 13-bed ward treats patients requiring surgical treatment or follow-up, such as orthopaedic, gastro-surgical and urological patients. We work in a multidisciplinary manner and our operation is always family-centred in compliance with the NOBAB standards (Leijonaemot.fi, in Finnish).

During your traineeship, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in a wide range of child and family care, especially in pre- and post-operative child and adolescent care, together with the family. Basic and advanced training periods for registered nurses and practical nurses are available in our unit.

We expect a highly-motivated, active and responsible attitude, interest in the treatment of children, and the ability to request, give and receive feedback. We require that the student who comes to us has completed the theoretical studies and practical training in paediatrics, internal medicine and surgery, as well as the medication calculations required for the courses.

Please note before starting the internship:

• We work in three shifts and expect students to do the same.
• Those under 18 years of age are treated at our ward. Before coming into the internship, you must present a valid criminal record extract to your teacher.
• We recommend taking a seasonal influenza vaccine two weeks before the beginning of the internship (from the beginning of January until the end of March).
• Those who have not been vaccinated should wear a face mask while in close contact.
• Those caring for infants must have protection against pertussis (whooping cough), provided by vaccination.
• MRSA samples must be taken if you have been studying, working or have been a patient in a foreign hospital during the past year.
• Make sure that you have had chickenpox and measles, or you have been vaccinated against them.
• You have updated your Jobiili CV, where you have highlighted some of your strengths and challenges with regard to the internship. We also require a Finnish-language CV from Novia's students.
• You have acquired a healthcare professional (VRK) card / booked an appointment at the VRK card registration point.

Pia Leskinen acts as student co-ordinator at the Paediatric and Adolescent Clinic (pia.leskinen@varha.fi). More information about internships can be found in the Jobiili booking system. Before starting your internship, please familiarise yourself with the Hospital as a Learning Environment website.