The working day at the emergency room has become more demanding - not more important

Kim Olsen Sveen is a nurse at the emergency room at Ahus Kongsvinger. He emphasizes that the best thing about working at Ahus Kongsvinger is that there are small conditions and that he feels like an important cog in a large machinery. Read the case and get an insight into everyday life at the emergency room in a state of emergency.

Name: Kim Olsen Sveen
Workplace: Kongsvinger Hospital, Emergency Department
Job title: Nurse

Questions for you who keep the wheels going

What kind of skills / education is required in your job?

You must be a nurse or specialist nurse. We have some student positions and some positions for paramedics / ambulance workers.

What are your core tasks?

My core tasks are to receive, triage and treat patients. Triage is simply to assess patients clinically and schematically to determine a time for which they need medical attention. The treatment part can be very varied, we have very varied patient groups and have to adapt to this. Practicing nursing is always part of the job and it is always the starting point in patient meetings.

How has your workday been in recent weeks compared to normal conditions. Give a brief explanation of what a "normal" day looks like in these corona times?

The days and work are very much the same as before Covid-19. What makes it more demanding and the biggest change is that one must always take into account that all the patients we receive can have Covid-19 in addition to the diagnosis they are reported with. Anyone who is suspected of being infected or proven infected requires much more work than other patients. This requires dressing in infectious clothing that is demanding, it requires more planning of the work and it requires that you are very tight. If you make a small mistake with dressing, you can become infected yourself, but perhaps what is worse, you can take this with you around the hospital or home. Therefore, there is a lot of focus on this with putting on and taking off clothing.

Why is your job important and how do you / your company contribute to keeping society going?

In general, the job is important to keep society going and I do not want to say that it is more important now than before. We get more attention now, but the truth is that everyday work is only more demanding, but not more important than before. We want to be there for the patients, but it is challenging to arrange everything in these times. So far, I think we are doing a very good job.

Do you have any professional tips or advice that people should follow in these times?

Follow the advice from NIPH and if you want to acquire knowledge, be source critical. One of my most important tips is, keep your distance and wash your hands. But perhaps the most important tip is this, be honest if you have to go to hospital, you will NOT get less help if you have symptoms of Covid-19. So when we ask you this on the way to the hospital, be honest, do not try to hide the symptoms. In that case, it can have catastrophic consequences.

What would you say to others who are considering your career?

If you want an unpredictable everyday life, work with people and a job where you can develop indefinitely, BECOME A NURSE!

What is the best thing about working / living in the Kongsvinger region?

The best thing about working at Kongsvinger Hospital is that there are small conditions, you feel that you are an important cog in a machinery. The positive thing about working at a local hospital is precisely this, that you get a lot of different things and it never gets boring.

Read more similar cases in the series "We keep the wheels turning" where the goal is to highlight exciting and relevant jobs in the Kongsvinger region that have a particularly important task in a demanding time.