25 carers work at WD3 on a full or part-time basis. These include Chiara Pfeffer, Ramona Spangenberg and Stefan Heimann.

Stefan is head of nursing on the ward and a trained heart failure nurse. He has worked at the DHZC for more than 30 years and on WD3 for more than 20 years.

Ramona is Stefan's deputy. The trained heart failure nurse has been working at the DHZC for almost 15 years, including 14 years at WD3.

Chiara has been part of the team for around three years. A four-week practical assignment during her training at our nursing school was the deciding factor in her application.

How well are you prepared for the requirements of WD3 as a young professional?

Chiara: Not at all! (All three laugh.) Seriously, I found the training at the DHZ nursing school to be intensive and comprehensive. But the job here is simply very specialised: the medication, non-invasive ventilation, the hygiene regulations for immunosuppressed patients, the nutritional rules - something like that is only briefly touched on at school. So in many respects you start "from scratch". But I realised that after the practical assignment.

Stefan: We are very proud of our special expertise here. But that's not meant arrogantly, because we are happy to pass this knowledge on. And because even after 20 years of WD3, I still have to be ready to learn every day.

Ramona: The minimum familiarisation period for us is four weeks. New starters are definitely never responsible for patients on their own during this time. We have a 45-page ward handbook and an extensive checklist. We also have ventilation training. I have to say: we really make an effort with the induction training...

Chiara: ...right!...

Ramona:....but we also expect you to be proactive. Because after the four weeks, we also need to be able to trust our new colleagues.

Apart from medical and nursing expertise: What makes working with heart or lung transplant patients special for you?

Ramona: The patients come to us from the intensive care unit. They receive 24 hours of intensive care there. With us, they can and must find peace and quiet again. They learn to be alone, to be independent and resilient again, to gain confidence in their new organ, their body and themselves. We support them in this process.

Stefan: "A person had to die so that I could live" - many of our patients don't find it easy to come to terms with this thought. We have a great psychocardiology department at the DHZC, which provides very professional support when needed. But we carers also have to be able to deal with this on a daily basis.

Chiara: Cystic fibrosis patients who need a donor lung are usually under thirty. Often not much older than me. That certainly helps to build a close and trusting relationship. At the same time, however, it is sometimes all the more difficult to set yourself apart to a certain extent.

Is that necessary?

Ramona: Absolutely. Almost all of our patients have been through a lot. But that doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is equally likeable. We are rightly expected to work in a highly professional manner. Personal feelings have to be kept out of it to some extent. For better or for worse.

And that works?

Ramona: It has to. Lung transplant patients in particular often stay with us for a long time after the transplant. Or come back with complications.

Chiara: Everyone has to find their own personal balance between distance and empathy. Otherwise you can't do the job here. You'll realise that very quickly here.

Stefan: The vast majority of patients make it. But some don't. That's very difficult to cope with emotionally. Again and again. And you can't get used to it. Nor should you, in my opinion.

Ramona: Our colleagues in the transplant outpatient clinic are in contact with hundreds of patients who are doing really well and only come in for routine check-ups. Wedding, birth and holiday cards hang in the office. However, people only come back to us as inpatients if there are complications. Sometimes that's not easy emotionally.

Do you sometimes doubt whether WD3 is the right centre for you?

Ramona: Never. A heart or lung transplant is a chance for terminally ill people. It can only succeed with a large team. And we are an essential part of it.

Stefan: The medical teams, respiratory and physiotherapists, psychologists, we nurses - there is a common goal for every patient. Of course, this is the case in every department and every clinic. But it's particularly intense here. And that connects us.

Chiara: That's true. Of course, I was also attracted by the special nursing requirements here. But the main reason for my WD3 application was quite clear: the team!