Eleven years of work in health care have helped Samira Sejdinović, a community nurse from the Primary Health Care Center Tuzla, to overcome her own fears and find strength to fight the adversity such as the corona virus pandemic. She and her colleagues give their best and they welcome any kind of support. Samira wonders if a pandemic had to happen to understand how important the nursing profession is.

Samira Sejdinovic is a community nurse at the Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) Tuzla. After eleven years of dedicated work in healthcare and investment in her education, she can rightly say that she is ready to face all sort of adversities, including the current pandemic.

The corona virus pandemic has brought many changes to our daily routine and life as well as many challenges that need to be tackled, both in professional and private life. “Uncertain forecasts, inability to predict and plan and imposed public health measures have forced us somewhat to thrive and maturely respond to the new situation. We have learned to live under the new circumstances, set priorities and move forward, believing that our efforts and the responsible behavior of the people around us must lead to a positive outcome. The very thought that the slogan 'stay home' applies to everyone but us, places a great burden and responsibility on our shoulders", explains Samira. During this period Samira learned to control the expected human reactions - fear and panic. In her desire to conquer it, she was guided by the saying that courage is not a lack of fear but a victory over it. She also advocated that trusted sources of information be carefully selected.

“The colleagues also give their maximum, led by the ethics, education and the nature of our profession. However, I advise that we do not forget to care for ourselves too. Only a "healthy" health system with healthy health professionals can help keep the population healthy”, says Samira. Human work force is very important and the management of the PHCC Tuzla makes every effort to protect the health of its employees, especially those going to home visits, by providing personal protective equipment and adjusting working hours to the current situation. “The support we received from the Strengthening Nursing in BiH project in the form of personal protective equipment is of a great importance. Support in the form of materials, equipment and psychological assistance is always welcome. Participating in the project also facilitated facing the challenges of the pandemic and emphasized the importance of good organization and helped improve the planning process”, Samira says.

People ought to respect the crisis management team proclaimed measures bearing in mind that every link in this chain is very important to protect the entire population’s health. “In every crisis situation - past, present or future - let's try to stay normal and responsible.” Samira leaves us with the question: “Does it take a pandemic to understand how important the nursing profession is?”.