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Services and instructions for social and health care students

People working in social and healthcare must be committed to protecting their own health and that of the people they take care of. It is important to consider this when choosing the profession and during training. For this reason, some FSHS services are targeted specifically at social and healthcare students.

Services for social and healthcare students include vaccinations as required by the Infectious Diseases Act, health-related screenings as well as the treatment of needle-stick injuries. These services promote both patient safety and the student’s own safety in study and work.

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Vaccinations for social and healthcare students at FSHS

Social and healthcare students working in social welfare and healthcare units are required to keep certain vaccinations up to date. This is stated in the Infectious Diseases Act and in the Government Decree on the prevention of accidents caused by sharp instruments in healthcare.

If your vaccinations are up to date, a verbal assurance or your own notification that you have been vaccinated in accordance with the Infectious Diseases Act will be sufficient. A written statement about the vaccines you’ve received or diseases you’ve had is not required.

Getting vaccinated is voluntary, as is presenting a statement on suitability. However, the practical training provider is required by law to check a student’s suitability for attending the training. An employer is not obliged to accept a student whose suitability cannot be confirmed.

Vaccinations required in practical training (click to open)

Check at the beginning of your studies which vaccines you need for practical training in the field. Get the required vaccinations at least 3 months before your training starts.

If you are a social or healthcare student and your studies include practical training at health care and social services units, check your protection against influenza, measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella (chickenpox).

The Infectious Diseases Act requires all students and employees working in health care and social care units to be vaccinated against influenza every year. They must also be protected against measles and varicella, through either vaccination or a personal history of the disease. Those caring for children aged under 12 months must also be vaccinated against pertussis.

More information about the required vaccinations:

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Checking your previous vaccinations (click to open)

You should check your vaccinations when you’re planning to start your practical training or work.

Find out about your previous standard vaccinations (MMR, polio, tetanus-diphtheria), for example by checking your maternity clinic card, your vaccination card or by contacting the health centre in the town where you grew up. Vaccination data from 2015 onwards can be checked using the MyKanta service, if you have received the vaccination in Finland.

If you’ve had other vaccinations, for example against hepatitis, you can find out the vaccination dates and doses from the place where you were vaccinated.

Students who have served in the Finnish military may have received the dtap vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (also called whooping cough) and a vaccination against meningitis during their service.

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How to get missing vaccinations

If you are not fully vaccinated or are not sure, please contact the FSHS’s assessment of the need for treatment team. You’ll get guidance about vaccinations and if necessary, a permission to book an appointment to receive any missing vaccinations.

If you can’t get vaccinated, for example because of an allergy, you’ll get a statement about this from the FSHS.

At the FSHS, vaccinations are free of charge for students.

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Seasonal influenza vaccines at the FSHS (click to open)

Social and healthcare students in higher education, as well as students belonging to a risk group, can receive their annual influenza vaccinations from the FSHS free of charge. Vaccination dates and venues for each influenza vaccination season are usually published on the FSHS website in October or November.

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Instructions for needle-stick and blood injuries among students


Needle-stick and blood contact injuries refer to situations where a needle or instrument contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids punctures the skin.

The FSHS is responsible for the treatment of needle-stick and blood injuries in social and healthcare students when the injury has occurred in a learning situation or during practical training. If the injury occurs while working for an employer, the student is covered by the employer’s occupational accident insurance. In such cases the instructions of the employer should be followed.

If you get a needle-stick or blood contact injury during your studies, in the first instance you must follow the first aid guidance of your educational institution or place of training. Once first aid is no longer needed, follow the instructions in the section “Blood samples in needle-stick or blood contact incidents”.

Blood samples in needle-stick or blood contact incidents (click to open)

You must have blood samples taken after a needle-stick or blood contact incident.

  • Contact the assessment of the need for treatment team to obtain a referral for blood samples and further instructions.
  • If the injury occurred outside service hours, the samples must be taken on the next weekday (within two days). If this is not possible, for example it’s a Friday night, the samples must be taken at an emergency clinic.
  • The needle-stick injury samples will be taken from both the patient (the source) and the student (the target).
  • Sampling and data disclosure to the student healthcare service require permission from the patient.
  • The internship institution where the injury occurred is responsible for scheduling blood testing of the source and evaluating any necessary further steps.
  • Blood sampling from the source and disclosure of necessary information to the party managing the situation require permission from the patient.

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Notification of an injury caused by needle-stick and blood incidents (click to open)

Students must complete a notification of injury digitally. The link to a notification form and the insurance numbers can usually be found on the website of the relevant educational institution. If necessary, contact the person in your educational institution responsible for your practical training.

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The insurance of an education provider in needle-stick and blood incidents (click to open)

The insurance taken out by your educational institution will cover the healthcare costs due to the injury in situations involving a suspected risk of transmission of an infectious disease.

  • The source (the patient) is known to carry an infectious disease.
  • The risk of infection is evident based on the medical history of the source (the patient).
  • The materials used at work involve a risk of blood-borne infections.

Educational institutions must submit a certificate of insurance in the situations described above. The certificate can be submitted afterwards if necessary.


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Instructions to provide a tuberculosis statement as a health care or social care student

The tuberculosis instructions concern students whose studies include practical training in

  • health care or social welfare
  • early education or childcare such as early education pedagogy or logopedics.

The tuberculosis instructions are intended for screening for tuberculosis without symptoms. Students belonging to certain risk groups but without symptoms can be directed to undergo a tuberculosis health check, including a chest x-ray.

Students who don’t have symptoms and are not in risk groups for tuberculosis don’t need tuberculosis health checks.

If a student has symptoms related to tuberculosis, they should contact the FSHS either by phone or SelfChat. Symptoms in tuberculosis can include a cough lasting over three weeks and sputum production from the lungs, especially if the phlegm has blood in it.

A tuberculosis statement related to practical training (click to open)

Under the Communicable Diseases Act, employers are obliged to require a reliable statement from those starting work or training in a healthcare or social welfare unit or caring for children under school age, confirming that they do not have respiratory tuberculosis. This requirement is very important, as those being cared for often include people with impaired immunity. A student with respiratory tuberculosis may spread the disease to patients, children or other customers.

The statement requires the student to complete and sign a self-assessment form. For those in a risk group, a health check and a chest x-ray examination will also be performed. The check-up and x-ray will be free of charge.

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The communicable diseases questionnaire and health check-up

All students in healthcare and social welfare or early childhood education and care have to complete a tuberculosis statement self-assessment form. Students in certain risk groups also have to undergo a tuberculosis health check, including a chest x-ray. This applies to students who

  • were born in a country with a very high incidence of tuberculosis compared to Finland
  • have lived at least 12 months in an area with a very high incidence of tuberculosis
  • or worked in healthcare for at least 3 months in a country with a very high incidence of tuberculosis
  • have treated patients with tuberculosis in any country
  • have been in close contact with a patient with contagious pulmonary tuberculosis
  • have had a previous confirmed tuberculosis infection or exposure.

List of countries at risk of tuberculosis and screening of immigrants for infectious diseases (thl.fi, in Finnish)

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What the screening for tuberculosis includes

Download and complete the communicable diseases form. If you’re in a risk group, you’ll have to undergo a tuberculosis health check. Contact the FSHS no later than a month before you start your practical training to book an appointment for the health check.

A certificate will be issued following the check and should be submitted to your place ­­of practical training. No check is required if your last statement (chest x-ray performed and documented in Finland) was issued less than two years previously and there has been no exposure to tuberculosis since.

If your answers to the communicable diseases questionnaire indicate you’re not in a risk group, print out and sign the form. Show it to your supervisor at your place of practical training or work.

Many places of training accept the FSHS communicable diseases questionnaire as a tuberculosis statement. Some places may require another kind of document as a statement of your tuberculosis status. Always double-check the requirements from your place of training.

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Important instructions and forms

If you are a social or healthcare student and your studies include practical training, you should familiarise yourself with the following contents.