Our alum Juho Kivistö: Work as a pediatrician feels meaningful every day

Committed to patient care and improving quality of life

Juho Kivistö’s job description covers many roles, but above all he sees himself as a pediatrician: his top priority is caring for patients at Tampere University Hospital Tays. The rest of his working hours are filled with research and leading a research group, teaching the next generation of doctors, and serving as a district chief physician for the Finnish Medical Association.

Juho’s research group is based at Tampere University, and its research focuses on children’s severe food allergies and severe allergic reactions, or anaphylaxis. Juho examines particularly the effects of severe nut allergies on the quality of life of the child and the whole family.

“Studies show that severe food allergies are perceived to impair quality of life even more than type 1 diabetes – which is quite a lot. We have studied the topic in Finland and, among other things, validated Finnish food allergy quality of life questionnaires for children for national use. This has been a significant step forward,” Juho says.

A challenge both in clinical work and research is the rapid growth of information: there are so many new publications that keeping up with the latest research requires constant effort. On the other hand, this is also what makes the work interesting – and, of course, improves patients’ care and well-being.

Dream job took shape over the years

Juho’s interest in the medical profession was sparked as early as lower secondary school. He suspects that a moped accident he experienced at the age of 15 and the time spent in hospital also played a part. By the time he finished upper secondary school, the feeling had grown strong: being a doctor was his dream job.

Juho’s strong passion for practical patient care was evident in his medical studies; amid all the lectures and cramming, it was the clinical phase he looked forward to most – meeting real patients.

I had a particularly strong desire to take on the role of a doctor, to do even the smallest practical things to help patients. It was great that we went on ward rounds early on in our studies and got to meet patients right from our first year."

Juho Kivistö

“I had a particularly strong desire to take on the role of a doctor, to do even the smallest practical things to help patients. It was great that we went on ward rounds early on in our studies and got to meet patients right from our first year,” he says.

Juho’s specialisation in pediatrics also began to take shape early on in the studies.
“I’ve always found it natural to be around children, and I also enjoy the element of surprise that comes with communicating with them. In this work, you don’t have to wonder whether you’re doing meaningful work – you feel it every day,” Juho says.

Among the key lessons from his studies, Juho highlights an internship at a health centre following his fourth year of study.

“As a young temp at a health centre, you learn more in a short period of time than you would over the long term in many other jobs. It is also good for everyone to learn the basics of on-call work. At the same time, you learn to cope with uncertainty, which is an essential skill for a medical doctor.”

Research, on the other hand, was not part of Juho’s original plan. His passion for research only took off in the early stages of his specialisation, being surrounded by many enthusiastic and inspiring people. Juho had studied child poisoning in his doctoral thesis, so it was a natural step to start researching anaphylaxis.

Strongly rooted in Tampere

Juho has a clear message for current and future students: follow your dreams. You must be prepared to work hard for them, however, and the need to learn never ends.

In pursuit of his own dream – a career as a medical doctor – Juho would have been open to moving away if needed. He was still glad this wasn’t necessary: he was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at Tampere University right after graduating from upper secondary school.

“I was born and raised in Tampere. Our first home was at the heart of the city in Hämeenpuisto, and that’s where I also learnt to ride a bike.”

Juho is proud of his roots in Tampere and also gladly tells others about them, including his international research partners.

“I’m proud to use my tuni.fi email address as a docent, researcher and supervisor at Tampere University. I feel deeply grateful and proud to have once been admitted to study here.”
 

Text: Tiina Leivo