We use cookies to provide a better user experience and personalised service. By consenting to the use of cookies, we can develop an even better service and will be able to provide content that is interesting to you. You are in control of your cookie preferences, and you may change them at any time. Read more about our cookies.
These cookies are technically required for our core website to work properly, e.g. security functions or your cookie consent preferences.
Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.
In order to improve our website going forward, we anonymously collect data for statistical and analytical purposes. With these cookies we can, for instance, monitor the number or duration of visits of specific pages of our website helping us in optimizing user experience.
These cookies help us in measuring and optimizing our marketing efforts.
Riikka Harjula-Pyylampi from Pihlajalinna: Many clients still choose in-person appointments
Author: Susanna Cygnel
Photo: Jirina Alanko
“In addition to in-person work, occupational nurses can occasionally work remotely these days,” says Riikka Harjula-Pyylampi, Occupational Nurse at Pihlajalinna.
I am an occupational nurse and service manager for occupational health. I work at Pihlajalinna’s clinic at the Sello shopping centre in Espoo and the new Matinkylä clinic.
As a supervisor, I must be present at the workplace most of my working time. I can hold remote appointments while I am at the clinic, if the client prefers a remote appointment. I work from home about one day a week.
When the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, we noticed that our clients clearly wanted to meet the professionals and visit the clinics in person.
The work of an occupational nurse has changed a lot in recent years. COVID-19 accelerated the development of digital remote services, such as chats and video conferencing, and remote work increased significantly during the pandemic. Electronic surveys have developed a lot, and we use them as support during health check-ups and workplace visits.
Our clients can choose between an in-person, telephone and video appointment. When the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, we noticed that our clients clearly wanted to meet the professionals and visit the clinics in person. We still offer remote clinical services and chat services, and the client numbers for these are growing steadily.
Remote work has made working so much smoother than it is certainly here to stay.
We carry out some of our health check-ups remotely, either through electronic surveys or remote appointments. Various guidance and instruction visits are also easy to arrange remotely. Negotiations with HR administration and management run smoothly and quickly via remote connections.
Even though the client is not physically present at a remote appointment, the interaction can still be intensive, because the participants have eye contact and see each other’s faces during the meeting. Remote connections are convenient for sharing instructions and other materials. We use a strong authentication portal for the secure transfer of information. Remote work has made working so much smoother than it is certainly here to stay.
It may be impossible to fully assess work ability or psychological health at a remote appointment.
There are also things that cannot be done remotely, such as testing a patient’s hearing, administering vaccines or measuring blood pressure. It may be impossible to fully assess work ability or psychological health at a remote appointment.
Workplace visits are carried out on-site because Kela requires this, but we can speed up the process by asking the customer to fill in electronic surveys. Occupational health meetings can be carried out, for example, by having the doctor and the customer present and the personnel representative attending the meeting remotely.
Schools are shared workplaces with employees from several employers. People at Havukoski School are constantly thinking about how to develop safety and ensure that messages are transferred effectively even in dangerous situations.
Improving safety requires continuous risk assessment and effective communication. Monitoring by occupational safety and health authorities has revealed significant shortcomings in occupational safety and health at shared workplaces.
At the Meyer Turku shipyard, approximately 80 per cent of the production of cruise ships is subcontracted. Matti Tuimala, Safety Manager at the shipyard, explains how safety is ensured at the huge shared workplace.