Recent Florence Nightingale medal recipient Noela Davies talks to Linda Belardi about the highs and lows of being a conflict nurse.

Flying over the vast swamp region of the Sudd in South Sudan during wet season is an awe-inspiring experience, says Noela Davies. During her six-month stint as a medevac nurse, she flew into 150 isolated destinations across South Sudan collecting the walking wounded, surgical emergencies and women in obstructed labour. Every day the Bundaberg-trained nurse would be in the air with two pilots flying over African wildlife and barren regions; over the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Each day would involve approximately six landings in various destinations but all under the one political...