Being a medic has taken Sergeant Lisa Pomana well and truly out of her comfort zone: 10 years ago, she was a shy private soldier – now, standing up to speak to a large crowd barely ruffles her well-experienced feathers.

“When I first joined the Army, I was shy and I absolutely hated getting up in front of crowds. But in our job we just have to [public speak]; as a private you might have to give a health brief to people deploying overseas, or deliver a lesson. Now, I don’t care if I have to get up and speak in front of 50 people.”

SGT Pomana has also been literally taken out of her comfort zone: she has deployed on operations to places as diverse as East Timor, Afghanistan, Bougainville, Indonesia and Australia – and into all sorts of conditions.

Among her many experiences, the images of total devastation in Banda Aceh, in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami, remain the most vividly etched in her mind.

“We all knew what we were getting ourselves into, having seen the pictures on the news, but it didn't fully prepare us for what we saw: the place, the enormity and scale of the disaster was just huge, you can’t explain it – it was everywhere.”

That was in early 2005. Last year, as part of New Zealand’s Provincial Reconstruction Team, SGT Pomana spent six months in the Bamyan province of Afghanistan.

This year’s challenge is a lot closer to home: she has recently stepped into her first official training role as 2nd Health Support Battalion’s Training NCO.

“It took me a while to realise where my little niche in life is, and training is it”, says SGT Pomana, excited about her new position. “Training is really people-orientated, hands-on-stuff – none of this sitting behind a desk all day! I enjoy being able to draw on my experiences and pass on [my knowledge] to other people.”

While she has only just found her niche, she has known “ever since I was little” that she wanted to join the Army, following in the footsteps of her father, an armourer, and both her grandfathers. A desire to work with a variety of people drew her to the medic trade, and she has not been disappointed.

To personnel considering changing to the medic trade, she says medics need a passion for working with people, and the ability to communicate with anyone: a fellow soldier, a high-ranking officer, a sailor or an airman, or a non-English speaker.

“If you can’t talk to people, they won’t open up to you, and they won’t come and talk to you about their problem. You need to be friendly, open, welcoming, and approachable”, she says.

This is particularly important on overseas deployments. “You not only have to deal with doing your job to the best of your ability, you also have to build a level of rapport with soldiers that you work with, and gain their trust so that they feel like they can come to you at any time, about anything.”

SGT Pomana adds that it’s her experiences working with people overseas that have made her career so rewarding. “You deal with so many different people: you get to meet the locals in the country you’re working in, and you get to work with medical professionals from many different countries.

“I have worked with some absolutely brilliant and inspirational people over the years, medical specialists who are just so full of knowledge and experience. It’s nice to work with people who are willing to draw on their experiences to help you”, she says. Now, by training younger medics, SGT Pomana has her chance to give back.