NURSING is in demand today--as a stepping-stone to a good career abroad. Indeed, the caring and competent Filipino nurse is known worldwide, and nursing schools throng with students with visions of foreign shores.

But Capt. Liza Morata was not one of them.

"I want to serve our soldiers and their families," Morata says. "As a nurse educator, I value the importance of continuous training. I want to spread and enhance the knowledge and skills of our military personnel here."

Morata has chosen to remain and serve in the country she loves.

Courage in spades
The youngest child in a brood of seven, Morata was born to a father who worked as a cashier in a government agency and a mother who was an elementary teacher.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Nursing from Capital University in Cagayan de Oro City in 1992, she became a part-time instructor at her alma mater. Two years later, she joined the military. Soon she became head nurse of the surgical ward of the Air Force General Hospital. Then she transferred to the air base hospitals in Lapu-Lapu City and Zamboanga City.

As a member of the Nurse Corps, Morata underwent training here and abroad, taking courses in the Army Medical Department Center and School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, among others. Now she is chief of the Nursing Administration and Personnel Management branch, and concurrent chief of the Nursing Service Management branch.

Married with a 6-year-old son, Morata has courage in spades.

From different aircraft (C-130, Fokker, S-76, Hueys, Nomads, Islanders), she has performed about 50 air evacuations, saving the lives of some 200 patients, including wounded soldiers during Operation "Final Option" against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Jolo.

As officer of Sector Alpha, she did not waver during the exchange of heavy gunfire between government and rebel troops in November 2001. For her bravery and resoluteness, she received two Military Merit Medals.

Morata's passion, though, is education. She conducts recruitment campaigns for nurses in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). She helped formulate a teaching manual to standardize health education, and a physical assessment course for flight nurses. She is training coordinator of the Air Force Health Service Mobile Training Team that conducts basic life support and first aid courses among military and civilians.

Last year, she spoke about the AFP Aeromedical Evacuations at an international conference in Hawaii. Through her work, she has strengthened military affiliations with the Philippine National Red Cross.

As mentor to student nurses, Morata joins them in their initial flights to check if they can perform solo on various aircraft. She also speaks to nursing students.

"I tell them about my experiences, the various opportunities, local and foreign training and, especially, the career and development path of a Nurse Corps officer," she says. "After my talk, I also present a documentary on the Nurse Corps."

Morata cites the benefits of becoming a military nurse, starting with the rank of second lieutenant, with commensurate pay. Nurses may also receive combat duty pay, instructor duty pay, flying pay, longevity pay, or overseas pay, depending on their responsibilities. They can avail of medical and dental services at AFP health facilities, with PhilHealth packages, housing benefits, commissary privileges, financial aid, and educational assistance.

Soldier and healer
When I asked Morata how she reconciled being a soldier (killing if she had to) and a nurse (healing at all cost), she said: "When I joined the Profession of Arms, I was made aware of my duties and responsibilities both as a soldier and as a professional nurse. Since our primary mission is to conserve the fighting strength of the AFP, as noncombatants, we act as healthcare providers to our comrades-in-arms as well as their families.

"However, in extreme situations, given a worst-case scenario, we are also taught to defend ourselves against attacks by the enemies and that's the time when we apply the basics in soldiery."

In 2000, she was deemed the AFP Medical Service Most Outstanding Nurse Corps Officer of the Year. She also received the Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines Annual Award for Exemplary Service in Nursing Practice. Early this year, she was chosen by Metrobank Foundation as one of the Outstanding Soldiers of the Philippines.

Morata is proud of her work as nurse educator. "This means that we do not only teach our patients, but we go out of our way to teach others, soldiers and civilians alike. In the Air Force Nursing Service, most of us are trainers in various courses, so most of the time, we teach in military schools." She teaches Intravenous Therapy, Stress Management, Medical First's Responder Courses, among others.

"Teachers must not only share their knowledge and expertise, they should also learn from their students," she says. "Good teachers don't only do the talking, they listen as well. To be respected, teachers should be role models of excellence. They must possess good principles and must strive to learn more, so that they can be locally and globally competitive."

What does this soldier-healer yearn for? "I dream of lasting peace in the whole world," she says. "I also dream of a more cohesive Armed Forces for nation-building and development."

E-mail the author at blessbook@yahoo.com