Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland
Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland is a free, beginner online course from Herizon.
What a care assistant in Finnish elder care does on a shift and how to get the job: the care plan, dignity and choice, a resident who says no, clean hands, moving people safely, food and drink, noticing change, a fall, notes and privacy, and the route into the work. Not clinical training and not a qualification.
You finish with Patient Care, Elderly Patient Care and Infection Control added to your Herizon profile.
Free · 52 min read · certificate when you pass the quiz · part of Working in Finland · last updated 13 November 2026
Free account, about two minutes. You can join if you live in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, or a partner organisation invited you.
Already have an account? Open it in the portalA look inside the course
Grace is a care assistant, a *hoiva-avustaja*, from Kenya. She has lived in Finland for 3 years, worked in hotel housekeeping, and finished her care assistant training in the spring. Now she is in her second week at Varpusranta, a 24-hour assisted living home in Lahti. Her unit, Kataja, has 16 residents, and tonight she looks after her 5 residents on the evening shift. Grace, her colleagues and the residents are worked examples, not real people, and Varpusranta is an invented home. This course is not clinical training and not a qualification. Your training, your unit's induction and the nurse decide how you do each task.
It takes about 52 min of reading, plus exercises, a short quiz and a practice task. It teaches Patient Care, Elderly Patient Care and Infection Control. Pass the short quiz at the end to get a certificate.
What you will be able to do
Who it is for
People who want a first job in elder care in Finland, and new care assistants in their first months. No care background is needed. The course is in English. For the Finnish you need on a shift, take Finnish for care work alongside it: this course links to its pages when the Finnish matters.
The situation you work through
Grace, a care assistant (hoiva-avustaja) from Kenya, is in her second week at Varpusranta, an invented 24-hour assisted living home in Lahti. On one evening shift from 13 to 21 she reads the care plans of her 5 residents on the Kataja unit, helps Aune dress her own way, accepts that Pentti says no to his shower, keeps her hands clean between rooms, waits for a second person before moving Aune, notices that Helvi has drunk little, tells the nurse Sanna that Aune is more confused than at lunch, stays with Pentti after a fall, and writes the notes. Grace is a worked example. She never decides anything about medicine, treatment or a resident's health.
Your practice task
Prepare one shift for one invented resident in elder care, in one week. Use an invented person only, never a real name, room or health detail. Submit one page with five parts: a short care plan for her with what she does herself, what she needs help with and what matters to her; how you would respond if she says no to a wash; the hand hygiene moments and the safety checks for one move from bed to chair; a four-part report to a nurse about one change you noticed, in English, with no guess or diagnosis; and your answers to two interview questions about a situation at work. End with one line on which route into care work fits you and your next step.
Key topics
- What a care assistant does
- Read the plan before you meet the person
- Help that leaves the person in charge
- A resident who says no
- Infection prevention you do every hour
- Moving people without hurting anyone
and 6 more pages
What you get when you pass
A certificate with your name, the course and the date. Sharing it is your choice. If you share it, it has a public link that anyone can open to check it, and you can add it to LinkedIn.
Common questions about Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland
- Is Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland free?
- Yes. The course is free with a Herizon account, and the account is free too.
- How long does Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland take?
- It takes about 52 min of reading, plus exercises, a short quiz and a practice task. You can stop and continue later, because the portal keeps your place.
- Do I get a certificate?
- Yes. Pass the short quiz at the end to get a certificate you can share, for example on LinkedIn.
- What do I need to start?
- A free Herizon account. The course is written at beginner level.
- Who can join Herizon?
- You can join if you live in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, or a partner organisation invited you.
- Who is Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland for?
- People who want a first job in elder care in Finland, and new care assistants in their first months. No care background is needed. The course is in English. For the Finnish you need on a shift, take Finnish for care work alongside it: this course links to its pages when the Finnish matters.
Start Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland free
Start this course freeCommon questions about Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland
- Is Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland free?
- Yes. The course is free with a Herizon account, and the account is free too.
- How long does Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland take?
- It takes about 52 min of reading, plus exercises, a short quiz and a practice task. You can stop and continue later, because the portal keeps your place.
- Do I get a certificate?
- Yes. Pass the short quiz at the end to get a certificate you can share, for example on LinkedIn.
- What do I need to start?
- A free Herizon account. The course is written at beginner level.
- Who can join Herizon?
- You can join if you live in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, or a partner organisation invited you.
- Who is Patient care basics: your first care job in Finland for?
- People who want a first job in elder care in Finland, and new care assistants in their first months. No care background is needed. The course is in English. For the Finnish you need on a shift, take Finnish for care work alongside it: this course links to its pages when the Finnish matters.
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