Ruben Jervell Pettersen works as a head nurse at Gatehospitalet Oslo, a hospital for people with substance use issues, run by the Norwegian Salvation Army’s Substance Use Care. As the head nurse in a hospital ward for patients with severe substance use issues, his job description is complex and difficult to summarize, he explains.
– It involves managing the daily operations of the nursing team, overseeing patient care, and coordinating with other health- and social care professionals to provide comprehensive treatment for our patients, he says.
His responsibilities include:
- Supervising and managing the nursing staff, including staff recruitment, delegating responsibilities, evaluating performance, providing feedback and training as needed.
- Collaborating with physicians and other healthcare professionals to develop and implement patient treatment plans.
- Receiving and evaluating referrals
- Assessing patients upon admission to the hospital, documenting their medical history and current status, and creating care plans tailored to their individual needs.
- Administering medications, monitoring patients' vital signs, and managing any adverse reactions or complications.
- Educating patients and their families about their health status and recovery process.
- Participating in quality improvement initiatives and promoting evidence-based practice to enhance the quality of care provided to our patients.
- Outreach, collaboration and teaching at partner institutions.
– Overall, my role as a head nurse is to ensure that our patients receive the best possible treatment. People with substance use issues experience high barriers to access healthcare services, so it is highly rewarding to manage a health service that is tailor-made for a marginalized patient group who, unfortunately, are often used to receive suboptimal care, Pettersen elaborates.
An interesting and rewarding job
For Pettersen, the patients themselves are the most interesting and exciting part of his work.
– Although most of the patients have lived very difficult lives with lots of trauma, there are many positive moments and funny stories in between all the misery. I find it particularly interesting and rewarding to provide palliative care to patients in this group.
He further tells that the ward he is in charge of is the only one in Norway that also offers specialized end-of-life care for people with severe substance use issues.
– Even though it can be emotionally challenging, I am proud every time our team succeeds in guiding a patient towards a dignified and pain-free death, he says.
How do you use your education at work?
The international and collaborative atmosphere of the master programme in International Community Health, combined with continuous discussion and problem solving, helped Pettersen to develop leadership skills that he needs every day in his current position, he tells.
Further, he explains how the skills he obtained during his master’s studies is valuable in his work with substance use issues.
– Substance use issues is a massive public health challenge, and can be viewed as result of many factors on a societal, political, judicial, cultural, religious and moral level. I would say the master programme in International Community Health gave me valuable insight and practice when it comes to understanding, dissecting and tackling big health issues that are threatening people’s health on a global, societal and individual scale.
Pettersen finds the field of substance use care challenging (and exciting!) because of the complexity of all the mechanisms at play.
– Nobody wakes up one day and decides to become addicted. It is not black and white, he explains.
How is a typical day at work?
A typical day at work for Pettersen is hectic. He never knows what to expect, he says.
– I try to tell myself that if my to-do list is the same length at the end of the day as in the beginning, I should be happy. Whenever I get something done, there is always something else that needs my attention.
Pettersen finds his job to be the perfect combination of patient contact, administrative tasks, communication, teaching and quality improvement.
How did you get the job?
– I had already worked at the hospital for some years on and off as a nurse and I was gently “nudged” to apply for the position. Fun fact: I had never envisioned myself in a leadership position and the headline of my application was literally “The man who never wanted to become a head nurse”. I’m glad I changed my mind, he concludes.
What are your best advice?for students who want your type of job?
- Stay curious and work hard, whether it is your job or your studies. It usually pays off in the long run.
- Get varied experience, try out different things and see what makes you passionate.
- Let yourself be surprised and do not hold on too tight to ideas of what you should or shouldn’t do. Sometimes your dream job is right “under your nose”.
Ruben Jervell Pettersen
Study programme: International Community Health Master’s program
Graduated: 2022
Job title: Head Nurse
Employer: Gatehospitalet Oslo, a hospital for people with substance use issues, run by the Norwegian Salvation Army’s Substance Use Care.