Julija Barisic works as a community nurse in Primary Health Care Center in Tomislavgrad. Even after 27 years of service she still loves her job and does it with the same motivation as at the beginning of her carrier.

Julija admits that the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult and full of uncertainties, pressures and an emergency situation. "The fact that in March 2020 we had two hundred home visits in twenty working days shows well enough the pressure placed on community nurses." Julija stresses that the pressure was not only on the community nurses but also on the entire healthcare system leading to adjustments in the existing standard operating procedures.

On the other hand, Julija’s patients are mostly senior citizens age 65 plus who had to be in home isolation which further increased their fear and caused the onset of depression. "Certainly it was not easy to work under these circumstances," Julija adds.

However, despite numerous difficulties, Julija believes that all relevant institutions, especially the representatives of the healthcare sector did quite well in this crisis situation given the available resources and options.

Julija proudly points out that coping with the new crisis situation was successful thanks to the synergistic team she works in. "Following the legal provisions and recommendations of the relevant institutions regarding anti-epidemic measures, we realized the severity of the situation and reorganized the entire work in line with these recommendations."

Solidarity, responsibility and professionalism are the qualities of our team in which everyone has a role. "As the crisis progressed we also advanced in terms of knew knowledge, work organization and provision of adequate services to patients with COVID-19 but also to all other patients."

Apart from providing curative care to the patients, the community nurses at the Tomislavgrad Health Care Center also thought of preventive care activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and have organized thematic training for high school students given the vulnerability of this population group.

As one of the 278 community nurses from the 16 Primary Health Care Centers participating in the Strengthening Nursing in BiH Project - ProSes, Julija is grateful for all the education and training she attended with her colleagues. "The support we received within the ProSes project, which we also count on in the future, was certainly beneficial and has further strengthened us," Julija points out, observing that what they currently need the most is personal protective equipment.

Finally, Julija appeals to the public to remain responsible and to follow the recommendations of relevant institutions during this or a possible similar crisis situation in the future.