Viral videos help Tallinn hospital nurses draw new recruits
OR nurses at North Estonia Medical Center (PERH) are drawing followers online with humorous videos offering a glimpse into work at one of the country's largest hospitals.
At the hospital's surgical center, where about 150 staff perform roughly 20,000 operations a year, the Instagram account perhoperatsiooniplokk has become an unexpected recruiting tool alongside its day job.
What started as simple behind-the-scenes posts has evolved into short, humorous clips about life in the operating room.
"We tried various approaches at first: open houses and handing out flyers at schools," said anesthesiologist Markko Pärtelpoeg, but to little avail. A colleague later suggested TikTok, but the team stuck with Instagram.
Early posts were fairly straightforward, but their breakthrough moment came with a video featuring Pärtelpoeg as "DJ Anesthesiologist," which has drawn nearly 3 million views, more than 127,000 likes and over 1,000 comments.
"It was shocking at first; I didn't believe it," he admitted. "It spread so quickly."
OR nurse Minna-Mai Bergmann now leads much of the content creation, handling ideas, filming and editing. She said the concept grew out of both personal experience and observing how nurses abroad, including in the U.S., use social media.
"People my age are always scrolling reels and trending content," Bergmann said, adding that international examples helped shape their approach.
The account now has nearly 9,000 followers and offers rare behind-the-scenes access to operating rooms — even for medical students who have yet to step into one.
"Our goal is to show that we have fun, that we're normal people like our patients," said nurse Annika Pukk. "A hospital isn't a scary place; we're here to help."
'Nursing students ask to come shadow us'
The videos also reflect daily life on the job. Mishaps during filming often turn into inside jokes, said medical technician Antonio Ibrus, who helps produce the videos.
The team jokes about missing pens, workplace dynamics and surgeons' quirks, while some clips even touch lightly on patient habits with humor.
Staff stress that filming never interferes with care, and often happens off duty. They say the effort is already paying off.
"Today all our ORs are running," Pärtelpoeg said. "We used to have to close rooms due to staff shortages. This year we haven't had to; we're running at full capacity."
Bergmann added the videos have also sparked direct interest from students. "First- and second-year nursing students who have seen our account write asking if they can come shadow us," she said.
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Editor: Karmen Rebane, Aili Vahtla
