The AaltoJOKO® program is well-known at Helsinki University Hospital HUS. One of the program's recent graduates is Licentiate of Medicine; Orthopedist and Traumatologist Jyrki Salmenkivi.
Salmenkivi works as Head of Department and Chief Administrative Physician at the Department of Musculoskeletal and Plastic Surgery in Töölö Hospital. He describes his work as twofold. As a clinician he focuses on spinal surgery and traumatology, and as Chief Administrative Physician he also participates in board work in one of HUS’ profit areas.
“The combination is interesting. I get to see our organization’s core functions: the grassroot work of physicians and the everyday life of patients – which are supported for example through good leadership – and I also see the larger picture where we operate as a part of the healthcare system and society,” Salmenkivi explains.
Salmenkivi says his supervisor offered him support and encouragement when he started contemplating leadership training. HUS and Aalto EE’s long-standing collaboration made AaltoJOKO® a natural choice.
The greatest takeaway was a broader perspective: AaltoJOKO® offered theoretical framework and expanded my outlook on leadership."
Salmenkivi depicts AaltoJOKO® as a well-structured program, and notes that the modular teaching eased learning.
“The program was a very positive experience and it definitely met my expectations. The greatest takeaway was a broader perspective: AaltoJOKO® offered theoretical framework and expanded my outlook on leadership and related challenges beyond the realm of my own field,” says Salmenkivi.
“Despite our fairly large group, our interaction was good, thanks to excellent lecturers and teaching methods that incorporated a great deal of conversation and group work,” he adds.
Salmenkivi notes that most topics in the program – be it economics, customers or for example global markets – were approached through three leading themes: people, trust and interaction.
“In my own work at HUS, I’ve already incorporated insights I learned during the program, predominantly practices relating to personnel management and self-management,” he mentions.
Interactive, fair and transparent leadership also boosts work efficiency and coping with work load.”
Salmenkivi emphasizes that in addition to highly relevant content, AaltoJOKO® also offered many enjoyable moments with new contacts.
“The atmosphere in our group was marvelous and very encouraging. To top it all off, the practical arrangements were conducted without a hitch. This all made for a highly rewarding year,” Salmenkivi affirms.
HRD Manager at HUS Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa Salla Koivunen says that HUS has collaborated with Aalto EE ever since HUS was founded in 2000.
Our collaboration is quite versatile. Aalto EE has arranged tailored training programs for us, and we send employees to Aalto EE s open programs. HUS also has internal training for supervisors, but we rely on external partners especially for longer training programs, Koivunen describes.
“In addition to AaltoJOKO®, we also send a few HUS employees to Aalto MBA and EMBA programs each year, and we have also found Aalto EE’s program focusing on leadership in the social and healthcare sector beneficial,” Koivunen remarks.
Koivunen states that long-term personnel development is the foundation for HUS’ operations.
“The competence of our personnel is the prerequisite to our success and to making the most of opportunities in a constantly changing operational environment. Developing leadership and supervisor work is equally important. HUS currently has circa 1000 supervisors and our goals is to safeguard high-quality and professional leadership in all our work environments,” she emphasizes.
Koivunen also reminds that good supervisor work influences staff retention, personnel development, wellbeing, and effective resourcing – and ultimately the success of customer and patient encounters.
“Interactive, fair and transparent leadership also boosts work efficiency and coping with work load,” Koivunen points out.
Salmenkivi concurs with Koivunen: long-term competence development is vital.
“In today’s complex, networked world, obtaining insights and broader perspective outside your own day-to-day work is imperative. For me, AaltoJOKO® offered a comprehensive outlook on leadership. I am happy to endorse the program,” says Salmenkivi.