25 years of fellowship at Arcada’s Emergency Care degree programme

Walking into an emergency is an everyday occurrence in the hallways of Arcada’s campus in Helsinki. Usually, there is no need to be frightened – it is only the Arcada paramedic students, in their red workwear, simulating emergencies as part of their education. They have been doing this since 1998, when the first paramedics (or emergency care technicians, as they were known until 2012) began their training at the universities of applied sciences, including Arcada.Then, it was an entirely new profession, says Christoffer Ericsson, Degree Programme Director for the Emergency Care Programme at Arcada.

– Before the programme was established, there was nothing called a paramedic, only emergency attendants, and later, emergency medical technicians, who worked in ambulances. We gained inspiration from England and Australia, among other places, and created a new profession, really from the ground up, with only a few courses as a foundation, and that eventually resulted in an HEI emergency medical technician’s qualification.

Today, the training lasts four years, and includes nurse training, qualifying the students to register as nurses. Everyone taking the paramedic programme at Arcada therefore gains a nursing diploma, too.

Christoffer Ericsson, Degree Programme Director for the Emergency Care Programme at Arcada.

A degree programme and professional role in transition

The focus of the programme has developed over the years. Initially, the focus was on acute and lifesaving tasks, and students trained for hard and extreme circumstances.

–We saw action, pomp, splendour – and lots of drama in the training sessions. We still see that today, of course, because training for that is part of the basic competence of a paramedic. Over the years, however, the focus has increasingly shifted towards the challenges of today, says Ericsson.

An increasingly important element in the degree programme is the inclusion of tools given the students to evaluate and cope with patients who do not need acute care, but nonetheless require the services of paramedics.

–Social cases, for instance, and psychiatric cases and elderly patients, are patient groups that are more and more common, and that paramedics encounter very often. How to meet them is therefore something that will crop up in the training phase, together with a focus on the wellbeing of the paramedics themselves – both in a physical and a mental sense, Ericsson says. 

Picture of paramedics training (FV14).

Meaningful contributions to society – while still studying

The training should keep up with the times and meet current community needs, and to that end collaborative projects are run, with students and important community stakeholders, during the programme.One of them is the Kids Save Lives initiative, where paramedic students and teachers teach comprehensive school teachers CPR, so that they, in turn, can teach their pupils. This has proven efficient in life-threatening situations, when children have learned to act.

–  Basically, Kids Save Lives, for us, is also about being able to contribute to the community in a meaningful way. Through this project, we have also been able to give our future professionals pedagogic competence and experiences, says Ericsson.

Picture of paramedics training in the new ambulance simulator.

The importance of community

The strong feeling of community in this profession is a mainstay of wellness in the professional capacity, and it is already developed during the studies. This became apparent this past year, when the paramedics celebrated 25 years of education. and Graduates of nearly all years, from the beginning on, gathered at Arcada in October. Among the recurring themes of the evening were the importance of safety in the workplace, and the feeling of community that continues in the professional career.

–  It was a great event for cross-boundary networking and an opportunity to see where the professional role came from, and where we are going with the challenges of today, Ericsson recalls.

Arcada’s new ambulance simulator was also unveiled as part of the celebrations – a much anticipated addition to the programme that provides even more realistic simulation exercises and will play an important part in training future paramedics.

Student projects with a social impact in 2023   

During their studies at Arcada, students have the opportunity to practice their professional skills by participating in various collaborative projects with social benefits, in addition to the compulsory internship and thesis. Here are some examples of projects realised during the year.   

Media programme   

• Second-year students from the Online Media programme worked with YLE on a journalistic platform and various concepts for slow TV.   
• First year students of the Online Media programme made films together with Folkhälsan on stress among young people.   

Sustainability   

• Through the project React - Strategic Sustainability for Business, students from Arcada's business and engineering programmes helped companies with various sustainability challenges using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and created roadmaps for companies that want to make create..

Robotics   

• Socionomics and IT: Students have actively participated in the mapping phase of the project developing child-robot interaction. Students have focused on how future early childhood education professionals view the challenges of the sector and the possibility of utilising digital solutions in their work.   

Entrepreneurship   

• Through Arcada's Entrepreneurship Hub, a cross-campus collaboration with the City of Helsinki, all Arcada students can participate and learn about entrepreneurship – and start a business of their own. In 2023, eight new businesses were started by students in the hub.   

 Well-being and health 

• Arcada's physiotherapy students organised a variety of warm-up and interval exercises for all relay participants during the Relay Carnival. During the large international badminton tournament Arctic Open, physiotherapy students looked after the well-being of both athletes and officials throughout the competition.   
• Together with Mattliden Upper Secondary School, Arcada's occupational therapy, health care, sports and social work students organised a wellbeing day. During the day, the upper secondary school students visited Arcada and participated in various workshops linked to wellbeing.   
• The Kids Save Lives project, where first aid students and lecturers train primary school teachers in first aid, so that they in turn can teach their students.