Meet Mirza Muminović our Medical Assistant

Mirza Muminović, DRC Medical Assistant, starts her working day with a morning coffee and conversation on daily work duties with a teammate, as well as regular briefings in order to fulfill all needs of the people accommodated in the single male reception center in Lipa in which DRC staff has the 24-hour presence of DRC staff, which sometimes includes working in 12-hour or night shifts.

"I've spent the last three years working in the DRC, and I can say it's been a tremendous experience. I am able to directly provide medical care on the ground to a sizable number of individuals with various medical conditions, and people of different nations, faiths, and cultural backgrounds while also defending their fundamental rights. Over time, my involvement in humanitarian causes has shaped my personality and altered my private and professional life. DRC has changed my perception of the many advantages of my career and enabled me to realize all of my nursing goals and desires while upholding the highest standards of humanitarian work through policy and work norms," Mirza says.

Working in a Lipa Center can also present a challenge for female staff because it implies the ability to react in a timely manner in accordance with the job description as well as looking at the situation from the aspect of providing quality health services, safety aspects, responsibility for the workplace and clinic, protection aspects, etc. Currently, Mirza works with the medical team of a local health center, monitoring specific medical cases and people located in medical units within the center, providing weekly and daily reports, accompanying people to health institutions, and enabling the referral of people with specific health conditions to partner organizations, etc.

"My greatest contribution to the DRC was during the challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic. I worked in family camps with pediatric teams from local health centers, on a joint UNICEF and DRC project. I was also working with pregnant women and the female population, while at the same time monitoring the development and condition of patients with COVID-19 in the camp and doing everything to preserve public health. Now that I look back, it is a wonderful feeling, pleasure, and privilege to be a temporary health bridge for many pregnant women who, despite their difficulties and the time of the pandemic, managed to bring a new generation into this world," emphasized Mirza.

At the same time, it was very demanding, limiting, challenging, and patient, but also magical to provide health services to sick adults and children. Working with children then required a lot of creativity and descending to a child's level of intellect and observation of the world in order to implement specific infection prevention measures and conditions of activity and work in the field. According to Mirza, teamwork and mutual understanding of colleagues with a precise and clear goal in everyday work are what make DRC exceptional.

"Considering the nature of the work, during these three years I had the greatest support from my brothers, close family, and friends, with whom I spend my free time. Also, I travel as much as my circumstances and work commitments allow me."