Practical training at the Central Finland Health Care District, Jyväskylä by Siina Yli-Suvanto

During last summer I was working at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of Central Finland Health Care District. I was working as one of the secretaries in the department. I applied for a summer job and decided to use the position as practical training too.

I was enjoying my time at the outpatient clinic. The working environment was totally different from what I had experienced before. Because of it, I felt like I was doing something meaningful even though I was doing office work. As a secretary, it was my responsibility to take care of the office and reception of the outpatient clinic. My work tasks were customer service via phone and face-to-face, make and cancel appointments, handle the mail, handle the appointment books, and write/ transcribe the dictations of doctors among other tasks.

Also, the Covid-19 pandemic affected this job too. Some doctors were holding the receptions online and secretaries’ job was to take care of the remote connection computers and lead the patient to the correct rooms.

I was a part of a nice work team of secretaries at the outpatient clinic and also other employees were very friendly. The work itself was pretty independent and I felt that I was trusted and appreciated even though I just started. The work was kind of basic office work, but the tasks differed during different days and weeks, so the work did not get boring. The work required good interpersonal skills and systematicity, and good ICT skills were an advantage.

Author: Siina Yli-Suvanto