Men are still far less represented among nurses than women. Nemanja Ninic from Banjaluka is one of those who have chosen nursing as their profession. He is working at the Non-Surgical Intensive Clinic of the University Clinical Centre of the Republika Srpska in Banja Luka. He believes that for a nurse nowadays the most important thing is to be responsible towards oneself, patients and the team they work with.

Even in regular, normal circumstances Nemanja’s job bears great responsibility. In the current situation with COVID-19 pandemic, caution and responsibility have been raised to an even higher level. “It is of utmost importance to be adequately protected with appropriate equipment as not to get infected and then transmit it to my family and colleagues”, Nemanja stresses.

Working with necessary full personal protective equipment (PPE) is very difficult and additionally exhausting. While his working day starts at 7am, it takes 20-30 minutes to put the PPE on. The work is organized in shifts that last up to eight hours, while two nurses are changing every four hours.

Many patients in the intensive care unit that Nemanja works in are sedated, intubated and on a ventilator. „We are here for all our patients, at all times. We are trying to provide comfort and encouragement to those who start recovering and are able to communicate again. Our encouragement means to them as much as their gratitude means to us health professionals“, Nemanja says.

The support and understanding of his family members and people close to him are most important for Nemanja in the current situation. “As much as this job is physically demanding, it is even more demanding mentally because of the struggle to save our patients and to save ourselves from the infection”, Nemanja adds.

His message to the citizens is not to get too relaxed and to continue observing recommended measures for wearing masks and gloves and keeping physical distance. “This way, we will protect ourselves and the people around us, and prevent an increase in the number of infected people that our healthcare system could not adequately care for simultaneously”, is his final message.