[1][2] In 1959, she graduated from Canterbury University College with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

[3] In the early 1960s, Kinross completed a Master of Science in nursing at the University of California, Berkeley, and she then worked as supervising matron at Southland Hospital.

[4] From 1967 to 1973, Kinross was assistant director of the nursing division of the Department of Health.

[5] She was also active on the New Zealand Nurses' Association executive and national committees.

[1][7] In 1985, she was appointed the inaugural professor of nursing at Massey, becoming the second woman to receive a chair at that institution.