Dežurna sestra u ambulanti rekla je da injekcija nije bolna i da nema razloga za strah.

Dežurna means on duty, the nurse currently working, or the nurse assigned at that time.

So dežurna sestra = the nurse on duty.

A few notes:

• dežuran is an adjective
• here it changes to dežurna because sestra is feminine singular
• literally, it is something like duty nurse or on-duty nurse

Yes — sestra literally means sister, but in Croatian it is also the normal word for nurse, especially in everyday and medical contexts.

So:

• sestra = sister
• medicinska sestra = nurse
• often just sestra is enough when the context is medical

In this sentence, because of u ambulanti and the medical context, sestra clearly means nurse.

No. This is a very common false friend.

• ambulanta = clinic, doctor’s office, outpatient clinic, or medical office
• ambulance in the vehicle sense is hitna pomoć or vozilo hitne pomoći

So u ambulanti means in the clinic / at the medical office, not in the ambulance.

Because the preposition u here means in, expressing location, so it takes the locative case.

• nominative: ambulanta
• locative: ambulanti

So:

• u ambulanti = in the clinic

This is a common pattern:

• u školi = in school
• u sobi = in the room
• u bolnici = in the hospital

Rekla je is the perfect tense (past tense commonly used in Croatian).

It is made from:

• the l-participle: rekla = said
• the auxiliary je = is/has (here functioning as part of the past tense)

Because the subject is feminine singular (sestra), the participle is rekla.

Compare:

• rekao je = he said
• rekla je = she said
• rekli su = they said (masculine/mixed)
• rekle su = they said (all feminine)

Both are possible in Croatian.

• Rekla je...
• Je rekla...

But rekla je is much more natural at the beginning of a sentence or clause in standard usage.

Croatian word order is flexible, but not random. The auxiliary je is a clitic, and clitics usually go in the second position of the clause. So after the first stressed element, you often get je.

That is why rekla je sounds very natural here.

Because there are two coordinated subordinate clauses after rekla je:

• da injekcija nije bolna
• i da nema razloga za strah

Repeating da is very normal and clear in Croatian. It helps separate the two reported statements.

You may sometimes hear the second da omitted in speech, but with repetition the sentence sounds neat and standard.

Because bolna is an adjective agreeing with injekcija.

• injekcija is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular: bolna

Compare:

• bolan = masculine singular
• bolna = feminine singular
• bolno = neuter singular

So:

• ubod je bolan = the prick is painful
• injekcija je bolna = the injection is painful

Here it is negated:

• nije bolna = is not painful

They are different kinds of words.

• bolna = painful (an adjective)
• boli = hurts / aches (a verb form)

So:

• Injekcija nije bolna. = The injection is not painful.
• Ne boli. = It doesn’t hurt.

Both can be used in medical situations, but they are grammatically different.

Because after nema (there is no / there are no / does not have) Croatian normally uses the genitive case.

• nominative: razlog = reason
• genitive singular: razloga

So:

• ima razlog = there is a reason / he has a reason
• nema razloga = there is no reason

This is a very important pattern:

• nema vremena = there is no time
• nema novca = there is no money
• nema problema = there is no problem

Za strah literally means for fear, but the natural English meaning is:

• reason to be afraid
• reason for fear

So nema razloga za strah means:

• there is no reason to be afraid
• there is no cause for fear

This is a fixed and common expression in Croatian.

Not literally, but in context it can communicate a similar idea.

Literal meaning:

• there is no reason to be afraid

Practical meaning in conversation:

• don’t be afraid
• there’s nothing to worry about

So if a nurse says this to a patient, the message is reassuring, even though the grammar is not an imperative.

Grammatically, this is an impersonal expression.

In nema razloga za strah, Croatian does not need an explicit subject like English there.

So instead of saying:

• there is no reason for fear

Croatian simply says:

• nema razloga za strah

This is very common:

• ima vremena = there is time
• nema mjesta = there is no space
• ima nade = there is hope

It can mean both, depending on context.

• injekcija = injection
• in natural English medical/patient language, it is often shot

So this sentence could be understood as:

• The nurse on duty at the clinic said that the injection wasn’t painful... or more naturally:
• The nurse on duty at the clinic said that the shot wouldn’t hurt...

The exact English choice depends on style and context.

Yes, to some extent. Croatian allows more flexible word order than English.

For example, these are possible:

• Dežurna sestra u ambulanti rekla je da injekcija nije bolna i da nema razloga za strah.
• U ambulanti je dežurna sestra rekla da injekcija nije bolna i da nema razloga za strah.
• Dežurna sestra je u ambulanti rekla da injekcija nije bolna i da nema razloga za strah.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis changes slightly:

• starting with Dežurna sestra emphasizes the nurse
• starting with U ambulanti emphasizes the location

It is mostly neutral standard Croatian.

Nothing in it is especially slangy or highly formal. It sounds like normal written or spoken standard language, especially in a medical context.

A doctor or nurse could realistically say it, and it would also look natural in a textbook or report.

Because Croatian does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So:

• sestra can mean a nurse or the nurse
• injekcija can mean an injection or the injection

The exact meaning depends on context.

Here, English naturally uses the:

• The nurse on duty at the clinic said that the injection was not painful...

Croatian leaves that unstated because the language does not use articles.