Being dentist without knowing finnish

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Koka201910
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:31 pm

Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by Koka201910 » Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am

Hello
Im overseas qualified dentist and im planning to start equivalency process to be dentist here in finland

Im thinking about learning swedish instead of finnish because from what i heard that finnish is way more harder than swedish and both languages are official
And according to valviera i can be dentsit without learning finnish
https://www.valvira.fi/web/en/healthcar ... te/dentist
What do you guys think? Will it be easy to get job with just swedish and english?



Being dentist without knowing finnish

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FinnGuyHelsinki
Posts: 1439
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by FinnGuyHelsinki » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:35 am

If not impossible, at the very least you'd be putting yourself at a great disadvantage. About 90% of the population is native Finnish speakers, and about 5% are native Swedish speakers. In bi-lingual municipalities there's a legal requirement that service is to be available in both Finnish and Swedish. The default being Finnish, which should tell you something.

Obviously one needs to be able to communicate effectively with one's patients. In the public sector, in a predominantly Finnish-speaking hospital, would you expect the staff meetings etc. to be held in English or Swedish for your sake?

That being said, I don't know how large a demand there is for dentists or what kind of policies may be in place, e.g. if "the dental nurse can translate" is something that may be considered.

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rinso
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Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by rinso » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:14 am

That being said, I don't know how large a demand there is for dentists or what kind of policies may be in place, e.g. if "the dental nurse can translate" is something that may be considered.
In the countryside is more demand than in the cities. Young doctors end up in small villages, but many leave for the city rather soon.
(And no Finnish in the countryside is a big drawback.)

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1329
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by FinlandGirl » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:16 am

FinnGuyHelsinki wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:35 am
In bi-lingual municipalities there's a legal requirement that service is to be available in both Finnish and Swedish.
This is only required for public sector jobs.
Many private sector dentists and doctors do not advertise any Swedish skills, and when a person with a Russian name advertises services in Finnish/English/Russian it is unlikely this person knows any Swedish.
Last edited by FinlandGirl on Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

FinlandGirl
Posts: 1329
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:43 am

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by FinlandGirl » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:19 am

Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
Im thinking about learning swedish instead of finnish because from what i heard that finnish is way more harder than swedish
The difference is smaller than what people make it.

People who have the motivation to learn the language because they married a Finn or got the opportunity for a new life after arriving as refugee usually learn Finnish quite quickly.
Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
And according to valviera i can be dentsit without learning finnish
Legally this is true.
Finding an internship without speaking Finnish might be a challenge in most parts of Finland.
Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
Will it be easy to get job with just swedish and english?
In Åland and a few rural places at the south/west coast of Finland it will be easy, in the rest of Finland noone will hire you without Finnish.

Koka201910
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:31 pm

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by Koka201910 » Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:24 pm

FinlandGirl wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:19 am
Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
Im thinking about learning swedish instead of finnish because from what i heard that finnish is way more harder than swedish
The difference is smaller than what people make it.

People who have the motivation to learn the language because they married a Finn or got the opportunity for a new life after arriving as refugee usually learn Finnish quite quickly.
Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
And according to valviera i can be dentsit without learning finnish
Legally this is true.
Finding an internship without speaking Finnish might be a challenge in most parts of Finland.
Koka201910 wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:47 am
Will it be easy to get job with just swedish and english?
In Åland and a few rural places at the south/west coast of Finland it will be easy, in the rest of Finland noone will hire you without Finnish.
Ok thank you for your reply

My wife also was advising me to stick to finnish instead of Swedish especially that i can practice language in public and with her which I cannot in case of swedish

Koka201910
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 6:31 pm

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by Koka201910 » Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:25 pm

FinnGuyHelsinki wrote:
Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:35 am
If not impossible, at the very least you'd be putting yourself at a great disadvantage. About 90% of the population is native Finnish speakers, and about 5% are native Swedish speakers. In bi-lingual municipalities there's a legal requirement that service is to be available in both Finnish and Swedish. The default being Finnish, which should tell you something.

Obviously one needs to be able to communicate effectively with one's patients. In the public sector, in a predominantly Finnish-speaking hospital, would you expect the staff meetings etc. to be held in English or Swedish for your sake?

That being said, I don't know how large a demand there is for dentists or what kind of policies may be in place, e.g. if "the dental nurse can translate" is something that may be considered.
Thank you

I think i will go for finnish

inkku
Posts: 922
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:26 pm

Re: Being dentist without knowing finnish

Post by inkku » Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:05 pm

Yes, go for Finnish. If your wife is Finnish, it will be important for you to have at least some kind of understanding Finnish, otherwise you will eternally be an outsider in family gatherings etc.

Learning Finnish is not impossible, I know so many foreigners who have mastered Finnish perfectly. But it requires a lot of work and a systematic approach. Just sitting passively and attending a language course once a week will take you nowhere. you have to practice, write, speak, stumble. Sweat and suffer but you will be rewarded. if you come from a monoglíngual setting, be prepared to double your efforts. learning the first foreign language will always be much harder.


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