28 January 2012 Last updated at 17:35 ET

Robert Burns award for nurse Karen Graham's Libya work

Karen Graham said she was "overwhelmed" to win the award

A Scottish nurse has won the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award 2012 for risking her life to treat patients from both sides of the Libyan conflict.

Karen Graham, 41, from Clydebank, is now a nursing services manager in Tripoli.

She said: "I was completely overwhelmed just to be nominated for the award so to win it is beyond my wildest expectations."

The award was presented in the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.

"I'm just a nurse doing a job that I love," she said.

"That doesn't change when you suddenly have to deal with civil war and heavy fighting in the vicinity of the hospital, which resulted in us caring for the casualties of the conflict rather than the oil workers we were used to looking after.

"I could never have upped and left them when they were most in need. It was one of the most challenging times of my life but was also one of the most rewarding. I'm really glad I stayed."

'Huge dedication'

Infrastructure Secretary Alex Neil, who presented the award, said: "The award is an important celebration of charity, humanity and selflessness, providing an inspiration to people across Scotland and around the world.

"Akin to Robert Burns' own values, it demonstrates that anyone can make a difference, whether in their own community or further afield.

"Karen showed huge dedication and worked tirelessly to deliver the highest possible care to the people of Tripoli in extremely difficult circumstances."

The Burns Award was launched in 2002 and recognises a group or individual who has saved, improved or enriched the lives of others or society as a whole, through personal self-sacrifice, selfless service or charitable work.

The 2011 winner was Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove. The 36-year-old aid worker, from Lewis, was kidnapped in Afghanistan and died during a failed rescue attempt in October 2010.