14.05.2021.

Awards presented on the occasion of International Nurses Day

On the occasion of the International Nurses Day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, presented today the "Nurse of the Year" award to Sandra Kostović from the Department for Prevention and Control of Hospital-Acquired Infections, and commendations to 13 medical technicians from the Military Medical Academy.

At the beginning of the ceremony at the MMA, a minute’s silence was held to commemorate all medical technicians who have lost their lives to coronavirus.

“Аll of you who decided to pursue a career as a medical technician, know that it is much more than a job. It is taking care of someone’s life. You know best how much it means to a patient when someone just holds their hand and gives them a little hope and faith. You know that the application of medicine and medical methods is important for a person’s recovery, but also the psychological support and reassurance that they will get better and that they will get help. Over the past year, when we faced the coronavirus crisis, you earned our deep respect. All the patients might not have remembered your face because of the face masks you are wearing, but they will certainly never forget what you did for them," said Minister Stefanović.

He added that the year behind us certainly reminded us that we should be grateful to our nurses and technicians for their knowledge, professionalism, hard work and, most importantly, humanity.

“I can’t thank you enough. As a minister, I will do everything in my power to make your position better, through salary increases, new equipment and better working conditions. Thank you for everything you have done for Serbia, and we will try as a system to reciprocate and show how much we appreciate it," said the Minister.

He also notes that the Military Medical Academy has been working 24 hours a day since March last year providing care to all non-Covid patients, both military and civilian, and that its employees are working in Covid hospitals, from "Karaburma" to "Arena". He knows that it is not easy to organize work in such a way, given a much higher number of patients, but military health must not fall short of expectations and betray people’s trust.

“I call upon you to keep helping and fighting for the members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and all our citizens to get vaccinated. Vaccination is the only way to defeat Covid-19 and for our doctors and technicians to take a little break from work. We must not forget that many medical workers gave their lives over the past year in order for our country to stop this disease and for the citizens to be safe and healthy," said Stefanović.

This year, the "Nurse of the Year" award, which is traditionally awarded every year at the Military Medical Academy, went to Sandra Kostović from the Department for Prevention and Control of Hospital-Acquired Infections by the decision of the commission.

“This award means a lot to me. This past year has been extremely challenging for me and my colleagues, as we monitored the epidemiological situation and the spread of Covid-19. This award will be an additional incentive for me to work even harder and be more committed in the future," Kostović pointed out.

Besides her, Dubravka Obradović, Desanka Petrović, Ljubinka Davidović, Ivanka Vlahovljak, Sladjana Bošković, Darko Brkušanin, Ana Zogović, Aleksandar Sladaković, Vesna Živić, Vesna Matijević, Branka Ševo, Svetlana Todorović and Radmila Aleksić were commended.

Head of the Military Medical Academy, Colonel Miroslav Vukosavljević, congratulated all medical technicians on their anniversary, noting that many of them had spent the past year outside their home institutions, fighting for the lives of many Covid positive patients. According to him, a huge workload that the entire military health care system has to cope with has never been, nor will be, a justification for the poorer quality of health care.

“Thanks to the understanding of the Ministry of Defence, and the Minister himself, the procedure for hiring new medical technicians in the Military Medical Academy and military health has been initiated. The ongoing open competition for jobs will bring significant reinforcements to our ranks," Head of the MMA pointed out.

He also pointed out that the establishment of the Health Care Service, the first of its kind in the country and the region, speaks of the continuing struggle and determination to improve the situation in the service and further improve the conditions and results of nursing and care of all patients.

The MMA’s head nurse, Bojana Jovanović, points out that 2021 is a historic year for the military medical service and the Republic of Serbia, because for the first time in the history of nursing in this area, a Health Care Service has been formed, which brings together the education, coordination and quality control functions.

On behalf of all the Military Medical Academy’s medical technicians, she thanked Minister Stefanović and the Head of the Military Medical Academy for initiating the establishment of the Health Care Service.

“I rightfully claim that we will try to justify your vision and trust and continue to improve nursing staff and move forward proudly," Bojana Jovanović emphasized. According to her, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the MMA’s nurses and technicians, who are at the forefront of the fight and cultivate a strong team spirit, have been using all their knowledge and skills to help improve the health situation in the Republic of Serbia.

“We, the soldiers in white face an invisible danger every day, but we are not afraid, we continue to fight for our citizens’ health side by side with our soldiers, who protect our freedom and our sky" said Bojana Jovanović, wishing all nurses and technicians a happy International Nurses Day.

The International Nurses Day has been traditionally celebrated since 12 May 1974, in memory of Florence Nightingale, a British nurse born in 1820, the founder of modern nursing as a recognized profession.