Good to work as a nurse in Húsavík

Berglind Ragnarsdóttir, nurse, has several hats in her trade, she is a division manager at the nursing home Hvammur in Húsavík and a professional manager for nursing departments at HSN, as well as doing daily nursing work. She was raised in Þistilfjörður but has lived in Húsavík since 2004 and says it is good to live there, as the town is very family friendly and the community is good.

“Yes, it’s great to live here, we have everything we need, and good town life. I am a nurse with a diploma in clinical health care nursing and have worked nearly my entire career here in Húsavík. Today my job is mostly in department management and work at the nursing home Hvammur in Húsavík, which has 41 residents, but then I am in charge of the departments of nursing at HSN, which are located in Blönduós, Sauðárkrókur and Fjallabyggð. Despite the rural nature, we department managers have an open communication line, have support from each other and seek advice from each other, as well as being in communication with my superiors.

HSN has 169 nursing and residential facilities and 23 hospital facilities. HSN’s nursing units are different in size and structure, but Hvammur has the largest population. “We seek to develop the service and work according to the concept of Gentle Teaching. It is based on an individualized approach where communication between staff and residents is the most important factor. Our communication and co-existence is positive and characterized by love and warmth, but we are very concerned that our people experience safety and care and can participate in daily life as much as possible.”

Idea work and policy making for better service

There is a constant dialogue regarding the services in the nursing departments, where ideas are exchanged on how to improve the service to residents and family members. “We are working to coordinate as much as possible the procedures regarding the reception of new residents, enhancing registration and following up with quality indicators. We are also working on implementing new technical solutions, e.g. the Iðunn registration app, which we expect to be implemented soon in Hvammur for testing for the entire institution. We certainly face challenges regarding staffing and time, but with this we are coordinating various procedures that enhance the quality of our services. There will also be a great advantage to have Arna Rún Óskarsdóttir, a geriatrician, working at HSN, which will support us well as other nursing departments at HSN.”

Hvammur is an old house, over 40 years old, and was not built as a nursing home at the time, but a new nursing home is planned. “Hopefully sooner or later we will see a new nursing home here, as there is a real need for more modern and better facilities for residents and staff.

The greatest treasure of the Icelandic economy is the staff.

“We are very lucky with our staff in Hvammur, who have a lot of good experience. Nurses, paramedics and other staff, who are highly experienced and highly skilled in their work, enabling us to provide the best service possible for residents and family members.” We are pleased that a project called “Paramedic Bridge” is now being launched, where staff with good experience are given the opportunity to undergo a practical assessment and undergo a paramedical training course alongside their work. Staff have taken this very well, as it means increased education and opportunities for them, and at the same time strengthens professionalism in the area. This is the first time that such a project has been undertaken, but Húsavík Academic Center has overseen the study in collaboration with the Upper secondary school in Húsavík and HSN.”

Nursing and paramedical students are invited to study in the field in Húsavík, and Berglind says it is important that this experience is positive to increase their chances of coming to summer work and even permanent work later. “We hear that people like to come here for practical training and we try our best to get them to apply for a job with us afterwards.”

“We are very proud of our work and it is very rewarding. The workplace is particularly fun, good atmosphere and rewarding interaction with residents and their families. The main emphasis is always that we are actually guests in the homes of the residents, but it is equally important that the staff feel comfortable – because it is transmitted to all the services we provide.”