Enhancing the attractiveness of Kainuu by developing supplementary education in emergency care and rescue operations
A training network will be created to develop supplementary education and to strengthen the collaboration in the region’s educational activities. The network is built by local educational organizations and operators of emergency care, rescue, and safety.
Emergency care program was initiated at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK) in 2024. In addition to training new paramedics, KAMK is developing supplementary and small knowledge modules in emergency care in collaboration with Kainuu’s emergency care and rescue operators.
– In the Stevok project we are currently creating a network-based operational model that connects regional educational organizations and statutory rescue and safety authorities in close cooperation to develop supplementary skills, says Heikki Kattainen, lecturer at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences.
The network-based operational model can cost-effectively combine resources from different operators and enhance inter-organizational cooperation. Additionally, this method improves information exchange, enables the development of high-level expertise, and supports multi-authority practice.
– The training network provides emergency care workers a nationally unique, Kainuu model based opportunity to maintain and update their skills, which strengthens the attractiveness and retention of employers in the Kainuu region, adds Anne Erkinheimo-Kyllönen, project manager at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences.
Worklife-oriented development
Emergency care operators in the Kainuu region and those responsible for emergency care education met at the Kajaani campus in April. The workshops included participants from KAMK, Kajaani Vocational College, emergency care and rescue operators from the Wellbeing services county of Kainuu, as well as representatives from the Centre for Military Medicine and the Kainuu Border Guard District.
– Regional worklife-oriented educational development creates a strong foundation for the development of emergency care education in Kajaani, says Kattainen.
In the workshops, participants got to know each other and initiated discussions on educational needs and opportunities for cooperation.
– By combining resources, we can address the educational needs related to the cooperation of authorities and the functionality of the tiered emergency care system. In the cooperation of authorities, the tiered emergency care system responds to situations where the expertise of rescuers, police, border guards, and paramedics is needed at the same site, explains Kattainen.
During the coming year, a report on the current state of supplementary skills needs and operations will be finalized, and structures for network-based cooperation will be created.
The Stevok – Attractiveness for Kainuu through supplementary skills in social and health care project, funded by the European Social Fund, maps the supplementary skills needs of Kainuu’s emergency care operators and creates a local continuous learning network for them. This network organizes supplementary emergency care and rescue skills for local operators and it will continue its activities even after the project’s completion.
For more information:
Project Manager Anne Erkinheimo-Kyllönen, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, anne.erkinheimokyllonen@kamk.fi, tel. +358 40 530 6426
Project Specialist, Lecturer in Emergency Medical Services Heikki Kattainen, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, heikki.kattainen@kamk.fi, tel. +358 40 188 3549