From avoiding gun-slinging drug dealers to receiving international recognition for her contribution to the health sector, Kate Holliday's nursing journey began in Australia but has landed her on a world stage.
In the same week as her industry contemporaries celebrated International Nurses Day, the registered nurse of over 20 years, speaking from her base in Switzerland, recalls cutting her teeth as a community caregiver at a Cincinnati rehab centre.
"It was quite dangerous… I spent a lot of time under my desk, because there would often be drug dealers in the carpark carrying guns," she told AAP.
She left her home nation and founded the Centre for Community-Driven Research (CCDR) in 2012, and remains the chief nurse based in Geneva. The not-for-profit telehealth and research organisation provides care to patients in Australia, Lebanon and Sudan, while collecting data on their experiences and expectations of the health system, to help shape policy.
"We've tested and validated this for the first time to see exactly what can a nurse do in a virtual context … we've got protocols and guidelines around that now which just didn't exist before," she said.
"It can't be just somebody sitting in an office making a decision. You've got to really listen to what the struggles of patients are, and then address those needs".
Dr Holliday is one of 10 finalists nominated for the Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award, recognising care, education and innovation. The winner gets $386,000.
"The biggest impact will always be when I'm one on one with a patient, and we can get them the diagnosis that they may have been searching for for years".
Anyone can organise a telehealth consultation with a CCDR nurse, or can participate in a 'personal experience, expectations and knowledge' study, where Holliday has built one of the world's largest patient experience repositories. Health and disease agencies have used some of the findings to sharpen their rollout of new care services for Australians.
Her Aster Guardian nomination follows CCDR conducting more than 2000 patient interviews about healthcare experiences.
"Nursing in its purest form, is being able to care for people that perhaps not many people care about, making sure their lives are valued," Dr Holliday said.
If named the award winner, Dr Holliday would use the prize money to fund training for retired and non-clinical nurses in telehealth processes and broaden her centre's data collection strategies.
International Nurses Day was on Monday and the winner of the Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award will be announced on May 26.
