Elaine has many years’ experience as a Hand Therapist in both the UK and New Zealand. She graduated as a physiotherapist in Edinburgh 1988 and started her life-long learning in Hands in 1996 at the Royal United Hospital, Bath. Here, she developed the Physiotherapy Hand Service while providing in-house and external teaching. In 2003 she became a Hand Specialist, working alongside the Hand Surgeons in elective and trauma
clinics. Elaine & her young family moved to Auckland in 2006. She worked in a private hand clinic until 2011 and was a guest lecturer and examiner at the AUT Hand and Upper Limb Therapy post-graduate paper until 2016. Elaine became a Certified Hand Therapist (USA) in 2008 and a New Zealand Registered Hand Therapist in 2009. Currently she shares her time between Tamaki Hands and the Counties Manukau Super Clinic, where she is also taking part in a 3-year clinical research project comparing rehabilitation methods after thumb tendon surgery.

Julie is a New Zealand registered Occupational Therapist and Hand Therapist. She completed her occupational therapy qualification in 1982 and worked in both New Zealand and the UK in hospital settings with a special focus on pain management and rheumatology. In 2006 Julie became a Hand Therapist and has worked in this
field since that time. She completed a Masters of Health Science (1st class hons) in 2012; her thesis was a research study on hand therapy after surgery for Dupuytren Contracture. She now works at both Tamaki Hands and Counties Manukau Super Clinic. She is also a part-time lecturer on the Hand and Upper Limb Therapy post-graduate paper at AUT University. Currently she is involved in research projects on outcomes after hand joint replacement surgery and equal outcomes for Maori in hand therapy.

Teri is a NZ registered Occupational Therapist and Hand Therapist. She graduated from Auckland University in 1999. As an OT Teri has worked in hospitals, and community settings. She has over ten years’ experience in workplace assessments, ergonomics and equipment prescription. Teri holds a special interest in burns and scar management from working as a senior therapist at the Middlemore Hospital Regional Burns Unit. In 2013, she completed her postgraduate studies and now specialises in all aspects of hand injuries and rehab.