Bojana Kovacevic is a nurse working at the Quality Department of the Public Health Institution Hospital Trebinje. She holds a degree in nursing.

When did you start your professional career and what motivated you?   I started working at the age of 19, in very challenging and difficult times for a young nurse at the beginning of her career. This period, although difficult, provided me with invaluable experience because in a short time, whether I wanted it or not, I acquired certain knowledge and skills. I decided to pursue this humane profession primarily because I love helping people and therefore I do not find it difficult facing various challenges that come along.

What does your typical workday look like?   My department colleagues and I first hold a staff meeting to discuss and plan daily activities. The Quality Department is focused on developing standard operating procedures and instructions essential for the quality and safety of healthcare services. Some of my daily activities are: planning and implementing employee training in applying the quality management system, planning and implementing internal audits, identifying problems, and implementing preventive and corrective measures to improve the quality of healthcare provision in the institution.

The position of health professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina…   Recently, there has been a noticeable outflow of nurses, which indicates the best their position in healthcare nowadays. I believe that the reason they are leaving is not only the financial situation, but also inadequately valued nursing profession.  At the same time, as a result of the lack of staff, the nurses who remained at their work places are additionally overburdened and cannot adequately devote themselves to their tasks and the provision of quality healthcare.

What are the shortcomings of the institution you work at? What would you change?   As in other health institutions, I think we are facing the problem of a lack of staff and inadequate working conditions. I hope that in the coming period, with the opening of a new hospital in Trebinje, working conditions will be much better and of higher standards. I believe that we would also need more training related to our profession, in order to master and improve professional skills - for the benefit of both the nurses and patients.

What are the greatest challenges that nurses encounter in their daily work?  The challenges that nurses face are: work overload, exposure to highly stressful situations as well as administrative work that additionally takes up time that could be used to provide nursing care to patients.

What kind of support would you appreciate health professionals receive from society and institutions?  I believe that raising the nursing profession to a higher level would be one of the key support mechanisms; investment in nurses’ education and professional development, financial support and better working conditions. Given the stress nurses face every day, I think it would be necessary to introduce programs to preserve their mental health and overcome conflict situations, which they are exposed to almost every day.

How important are the nurse-patient and nurse-doctor relationships?  The relationship and trust between doctors and nurses are extremely important, because they are a team that takes responsibility for and takes care of the patient. The nurse's attitude towards the patient should be, first of all, humane, kind, full of patience, understanding, able to gain patient’s trust so that the course and outcome of nursing care would be positive. It is very important that the patient trusts the nurse and feels safe.

What motivates and fulfils you the most in working with patients?  In many years of work with patients, I have found motivation in helping others, and the greatest motivation has been the patient's smile, a good treatment outcome and recovery regardless of the challenges we encounter during the treatment.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the status and role of nurses in BiH?   I believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the role and importance of nurses across the entire system. To encounter an unknown "enemy" is difficult to describe, let alone experience. Health professionals certainly bore the greatest burden and gave their best to deal with it. The teamwork is the essence of our profession therefore the colleagues who had fallen sick from the COVID-19 would return to work as soon as they recovered to replace already exhausted colleagues.

What is the difference between the nurses’ working conditions in the private and public sectors?   Since I have not had the opportunity to work in the private sector but only to visit, I am not sure if I can convey my impressions about private practice. I believe that nurses are equally dedicated and responsible in the work they do, but in the private sector there are noticeably better working conditions, i.e. work space, modern equipment, and the workload in terms of number of patients per a nurse. While in the public sector, the nurses are certainly faced with work overload, shortage of staff, and different working conditions. Recently, there has been an improvement in the public sector as well; there have been efforts to improve working conditions and noticeable financial support.

Do you think that the nurses’ education system in BiH is adequately developed? What needs to be improved?  The education system in BiH is developed, but is not aligned with the needs of health institutions, i.e. the labour market. Practical courses are not sufficiently present in terms of the number of hours spent in health institutions. Most often, nurses, after completing their studies, have theoretical knowledge, but lack practical skills. It would be good to introduce more hours in health institutions, provide practical exercises and practice certain skills that are important in nursing care.

Benefits of "Strengthening Nursing in BiH" project and the support from the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH and the relevant ministries of health...  Fami Foundation has a significant role and contribution in strengthening the nursing profession via numerous training courses and workshops provided, which helped participants gain valuable knowledge and skills necessary for the provision of quality nursing services at all levels. Standard operating procedures developed for the primary, secondary and tertiary levels facilitate our daily provision of nursing care. Fami Foundation has certainly justified the objective of the project, and in addition, it has contributed to raising the quality of nursing care services.

A moment from your career that you will always remember...   It is difficult to single out just one event from nearly three decades in the practice, but the motivation over the years came from satisfied and recovered patients, as well as their smile and gratitude when they leave the institution. First of all, you have to be humane and do your job the best you can and with dedication, and the positive results will follow.

A message to young people who are considering pursuing nursing career...   I would like to tell young nurses that in the first place they should love this profession and have empathy for others, because this is not just a profession, but a way of life.