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Region Västmanland gives SEK 400 more in salary to the assistant nurse who applies for and receives a professional certificate from the National Board of Health and Welfare. Archive image.
1 / 2Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Those who want to call themselves assistant nurses now need to show a certificate from the National Board of Health and Welfare.
But whoever receives a certificate cannot count on extra money in their wallet – only one region has decided on a salary increase.
The majority of the country’s regions will not increase the salary envelope for those who apply for and are granted the title of assistant nurse by the National Board of Health and Welfare.
19 out of 21 regions state to TT that the duties of an assistant nurse will not change with the introduction of a protected professional title and that the salary will therefore not be affected.
“The certificate gives the employee the right to use the title assistant nurse and thereby enable employability within the profession. This in itself should be sufficient to motivate the individual employee to apply for a certificate,” writes the Dalarna region in an email response.
Region Sörmland, in turn, states that no decision has been made on the issue.
Takes the cost
However, one region chooses to go against the grain. Region Västmanland has announced that an issued certificate will mean SEK 400 more in salary.
– It is a way of showing that we invest in the assistant nurses and their competence, says Lars Almroth who is the director of health and medical care in the region.
Just as with credentialing professions such as doctor, nurse and dentist, the National Board of Health and Welfare charges a fee in connection with an application. Last spring, the government decided that it should be 320 kroner for assistant nurses.
There, too, most regions state that it is a sum that each individual person must pay for – just as for professional groups that apply for an ID card. However, Region Östergötland and the municipal union have decided to bear that cost.
“Based on that, the cost of the certificate for all of our permanent assistant nurses is financed,” states the region.
“Must pay off”
Kommunal considers the protected professional title to be an important step and hopes in the long run that it will lead to nurses’ skills being valued more highly – and that this will be reflected in the salary.
– I think it’s strange that more employers don’t come out and say that they take that cost because this is so important. That you can’t immediately go out and say, as the region of Västmanland, that this will pay off in the long run, says Malin Ragnegård, union chairman for Kommunal and adds:
– If you want to have trained assistant nurses in care and social care, you need to make sure that it pays to work like that.
FACT Nurse is now a protected professional title
Since the first of July 2023, assistant nurse is a protected professional title, i.e. only those with a certain education or competence may call themselves assistant nurse.
Nowadays, proof is required, which you apply to the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Those who had permanent employment as assistant nurses when the new rules came into effect on July 1 will be able to use the title until 2033 without having to apply for any proof.
Source: National Board of Health and Welfare
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