12.05.2020.
International Nurses Day marked at the Military Medical Academy
Minister Vulin: I did not hear anyone say “no” or refuse to help people
International Nurses Day was marked today at the Military Medical Academy. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Bojan Jocić, the Head of the Military Healthcare Department Major General Dr. Uglješa Jovičić, the Head of the Military Medical Academy Colonel Dr. Miroslav Vukosavljević, employees of that military health institution and guests.
Expressing best wishes on International Nurses Day on behalf of the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, Minister Vulin pointed out that the President insisted on improving the position of medical technicians and nurses, because he knows how important they are.
- It is hard to imagine a more difficult job and a job with greater health risk than yours, which is often not rewarded with gratitude and attention. Your contribution and heroism in the fight against the Covid virus might be more evident today, but you do it every day and you will do your job even when the cameras go off - said the Minister of Defence and added that it is the job of nurses and medical technicians to be with the people who suffer, for which he thanked them.
I might not be able to recognize many of you without a mask, but I recognize you very well with your masks on and I know very well what your eyes looked like in some of the difficult moments in some of the hospitals where we were together, when we learned what awaited us and faced the unknown, said Minister Vulin.
- I did not hear anyone say “no”, or refuse to help people. You were there, you enquired more about the patients and what they need, than about what you need - said the Minister of Defence and added that such an attitude restores faith in people in these difficult times.
- We may have remained indebted to those who took care of us and treated us in 1999, during the NATO bombing. We never called special attention to medical corps, to those who pulled the wounded or dead from the front lines, and in the years to come I would like us to find a way, for the sake of history, but also for your sake and for the sake of the future, to repay these people - said Minister Aleksandar Vulin, wishing the members of the military health service a happy holiday and thanking them for the honourable service, expressing hope that they will soon meet without masks and gloves.
Welcoming everyone present, the Head of the Military Medical Academy, Colonel Dr. Miroslav Vukosavljević, pointed out that due to the pandemic of Covid-19, the otherwise demanding job of a medic was even more difficult.
- By putting in a great deal of effort in the past nine weeks, military nurses have confirmed their strength once again. Throughout history, this strength has proved to be the dominant symbol of the quality of military medical care, said the Head of the MMA, adding that medical technicians and nurses have proven how difficult, valuable and praiseworthy their vocation is.
- This year, two medical technicians who are still on two firing lines of battle with the Covid-19 disease, i.e. the coronavirus, in the Karaburma Covid Centre and in the admission and triage Emergency Service of the Military Medical Academy, were unanimously selected as the best, Colonel Miroslav Vukosavljević pointed out, adding that more than 100 medical technicians, who are still in the Karaburma Covid hospital, testify to the importance of the Military Medical Academy for the second line of defence against the virus.
Wishing a happy Nurses Day to all the nurses and technicians, the head nurse of the Military Medical Academy, Bojana Jovanović, highlighted the importance of today's holiday, adding that nursing is a noble, selfless, serious and responsible profession.
According to her, modern society is still facing numerous and insufficiently researched diseases and we are witnessing the fight against an invisible enemy that is trying to destroy the health system on a global level.
- On the frontline of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, risking their health and life, nurses and technicians use all their knowledge and skills in the prevention and treatment of patients by providing assistance to vulnerable people, their families and society as a whole. The MMA’s medical technicians, cultivating a strong team spirit, once again prove that they are an important part of the military and health care system in general, which significantly contributes to improving the health status of all citizens of the Republic of Serbia - said the head nurse of the MMA, adding that the World Health Organization has declared 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
Recognizing the importance of this profession, as the head nurse Bojana Jovanović pointed out, the Military Medical Academy hired 140 nurses and technicians under permanent employment contract last year, and steps have been taken for their advanced training.
In the traditional selection process, Milan Radojković from the Military Medical Academy’s Emergency Centre and Daliborka Radišić from The Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Critical Care were declared the best technicians of the Military Medical Academy in the past year, while several technicians and nurses from various organizational units of the Military Medical Academy were commended.
The Minister of Defence awarded military commemorative medals for exceptional results in the Military Service, for the first time to civilians Daliborka Dragišić and Marija Bradić, and several members were awarded seven-day holidays in the rest and recreation facilities of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.
One of the awarded, Milan Radojković, the chief technician of the Military Medical Academy’s Emergency Centre, pointed out that he is deeply honoured to have been awarded, because of himself, but also because of his colleagues.
- My colleagues are also part of this team and this award belongs to them as well. We started working at the Emergency Centre even before the state of emergency, took all preventive measures and formed a triage service. Statistics show that about 14,000 patients were received in the triage tent, and more than 9,000 patients were examined during the pandemic - Radojković pointed out.
Daliborka Radišić points out that it is her great honour as a nurse to be standing among the awarded, on the day when International Nurses Day is celebrated. She also used the opportunity to thank all the citizens for the great support they have provided to her and her colleagues during the fight against the virus.
- Without your support, we would not have succeeded. Although I have a lot of experience working during states of emergency, this has been the biggest professional challenge for me so far. I am the head nurse of the hospital in Karaburma and I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to help people and return to our families as soon as possible - says Daliborka Radišić.
International Nurses Day has been traditionally celebrated since 1974, on 12th May, the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is considered the founder of modern medical practice.
