Arcada First in Finland to Offer Specialisation for Osteoporosis Nurses

Today, the 21 first nurses specialised in osteoporosis care in Finland completed their training. The specialisation offered by Arcada is unique - for the first time, nurses who have already worked in the field can receive extensive training in the field.

Osteoporosis is something of a public disease in Finland today. In all parts of the country, many nurses work with osteoporosis without formal specialisation in the field. They are often completely self-taught or at best, they have received guidance from colleagues who have worked with osteoporosis for several years. Thus far, no extensive specialisation education in the field has been available.  

In response to the lack of specialisation opportunities, Arcada together with Luustoliitto, has developed a 15-credit specialisation in osteoporosis for nurses. Through a combination of on-site studies and individual tasks completed as distance learning, nurses now have the opportunity to gain the expertise needed.

- The specialisation programme is a response to a very concrete demand in society. It has been very rewarding to develop the programme with Luustoliitto and then see how the participants build their expertise and gain confidence in their own knowledge, says Marika Blomster who has been the driving force behind the specialisation at Arcada.

Arcada is working actively to help develop the expertise of healthcare professionals. Thus, it has been great to see nurses from all over the country participate in the specialisation.

- We have received very positive feedback. This is also a good example of how Arcada's continuing education strives to be agile and respond quickly to needs that arise in society, says Lotta Wikman, Director of contract education and continuing learning.

After the successful start, it is now clear that the specialisation will be offered again in the autumn of 2019.