Kinu McCarthy

Kinu is a registered nurse with a specialism in epilepsy nursing.

Kinu originally trained in Japan in 1994. Four years later she moved to New Zealand where she has worked in a variety of settings including surgical and orthopaedic wards, ICU, ED, medical, and rest homes.

Increasingly alarmed at the lack of nurses and nurse guidelines to provide suitable care for those suffering with epilepsy in our country, Kinu was drawn to explore epilepsy care while completing her Masters of Philosophy in Nursing through Massey University in 2018. Her thesis research highlighted a number of gaps in patient education, and was the fuel that led Kinu to champion better care for the tens of thousands of people in New Zealand suffering from epilepsy ever since.

In collaboration with colleagues, Kinu developed an epilepsy education template that has been shared to neurology nurses nationwide for anyone newly diagnosed with epilepsy, and set up a phone-based neurology nurse-led clinic; allowing a seamless pathway and timely follow-up care for those challenged with travel to hospitals.

Forming the National Epilepsy Network for Nurses and engaging members to collaborate and share education is yet another step Kinu has brought to the field of epilepsy.

Today, Kinu continues to advocate for better care in epilepsy in the country; she is hosting study days to grow nurse resources, and at the same time developing best practice epilepsy nursing guidelines to standardise care. Kinu is an active ‘nurse voice’ and member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for epilepsy care at the Ministry of Health. She is also a Vice President of New Zealand League Against Epilepsy (NZLAE) - the New Zealand chapter of International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

Kinu has completed a Masters of Philosophy in Nursing, a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Informatics, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.