Nursing is the profession Finland recruits most internationally, and the one where the language requirement is written into law. This page has the rule, the phrases you use on the ward from the first shift, and a plan for reaching the required level while you work.
The rule
Nurses trained outside the EU or EEA must show Finnish or Swedish at the intermediate level, YKI grade 3 to 4 (B1), before Valvira, the health supervisory authority, grants the licence. Nurses trained in the EU show language skills to the employer rather than Valvira, but in practice the same level is expected. Practical nurses (lähihoitaja) qualify through Finnish vocational education, which is itself in Finnish.
Many hospitals and care companies hire international nurses as care assistants (hoiva-avustaja) or into qualification programmes while they study toward B1. Universities of applied sciences run Finnish-for-nurses tracks, and Kielibuusti publishes free care-sector materials.
Talking to patients
Older patients are often addressed formally with te. The forms below use te; switch to sinä when your ward does.
| Hyvää huomenta! Miten voitte tänään? | Good morning! How are you today? (formal te) |
| Miten voit? Onko kipuja? | How are you? Any pain? (informal) |
| Missä sattuu? | Where does it hurt? |
| Näyttäkää, missä. | Show me where. |
| Kuinka paha kipu on asteikolla yhdestä kymmeneen? | How bad is the pain on a scale of one to ten? |
| Otan verenpaineen. | I'll take your blood pressure. |
| Mittaan lämmön. | I'll take your temperature. |
| Nostakaa kättä. | Raise your arm. |
| Hengittäkää syvään. | Breathe deeply. |
| Nielaiskaa. | Swallow. |
| Tässä on lääkkeenne. | Here is your medication. |
| Ottakaa tämä veden kanssa. | Take this with water. |
| Oletteko syönyt tänään? | Have you eaten today? |
| Haluatteko vettä? | Would you like some water? |
| Autan teidät ylös. | I'll help you up. |
| Painakaa nappia, jos tarvitsette apua. | Press the button if you need help. |
| Kutsun lääkärin. | I'll call the doctor. |
| Tulen kohta takaisin. | I'll be right back. |
| Kaikki on hyvin. | Everything is fine. |
Shift and handover words
| aamuvuoro, iltavuoro, yövuoro | morning shift, evening shift, night shift |
| raportti | handover report |
| potilas | patient |
| asukas | resident (in elderly care) |
| omainen | family member, next of kin |
| verenpaine, pulssi, lämpö, happisaturaatio | blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation |
| lääkitys, lääkelista | medication, medication list |
| kipu, kipulääke | pain, painkiller |
| haava, sidos | wound, dressing |
| kaatuminen | a fall |
| Potilas on levoton. | The patient is restless. |
| Potilas nukkui hyvin. | The patient slept well. |
| Verenpaine on koholla. | Blood pressure is elevated. |
| Ei muutoksia. | No changes. |
| Kirjaan sen. | I'll document it. |
| Voitko auttaa minua nostossa? | Can you help me with a lift? |
Reaching B1 while working
- Learn the ward's vocabulary first. Two hundred words cover ninety percent of a shift. Make cards from the handover words above and from your unit's own list.
- Shadow the handover. Listen to the raportti every day, then repeat one sentence about each patient to yourself.
- Write the documentation in Finnish from month one, even if a colleague checks it. The phrases are formulaic and repeat.
- Book the YKI test for about a year out. See the YKI page. Speaking and writing are the subtests nurses most often need to retake, so practise them from the start.
- Do the writing templates: the formal message is the same skill as a patient report.