He was responsible for major tuberculosis treatment initiatives in New Zealand, the introduction of district nursing and a pioneering health education campaign.

[1][2] He graduated with medical and surgical qualifications and a Royal College of Physicians Diploma in Public Health at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

[1][2] He traded the rigours of horseback-riding backblocks medicine for the less physically demanding role of public health official after his presentation on artificial limbs at the 1901 annual meeting of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association.

[1][2] In this role Valintine advocated for a hospital system that served urban and rural areas and included a district nursing service.

[1] He renewed his interest in TB after 1909 planning for notification of the disease, public education, treatment in sanatoria and occupational therapy for convalescents, and district nursing services.

[2] Valentine promoted health education during the final ten years of his career and is credited with the statement, "It is better policy to teach people to live healthily and to prevent disease than it is to treat them as irresponsible units for whom care has to be provided".

[1] Valintine was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours for his services during the First World War.