Dr. Karthikayini Krishnasamy, PhD, MNSc, BNSc, Adv. Dip. Nur. (Oncology)
Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing Science
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ORCID iD: [Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8094-87760009-0002-8094-8776]

Dr. Karthikayini Krishnasamy is a distinguished nursing academic and healthcare leader with more than three decades of experience spanning clinical practice, healthcare management, quality improvement, and higher education. She currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Nursing, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Her professional expertise is nationally and internationally recognized in the areas of patient safety, leadership and management, infection control, nutrition support therapy, medical-surgical nursing, and oncology nursing.

Dr. Karthikayini holds a PhD in Hospital Quality Management (Patient Safety) from Universiti Malaya, complemented by advanced qualifications in oncology nursing and healthcare management. She previously served as Coordinator in the Quality Department at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for over three years, where she led key initiatives in clinical governance, patient safety, and healthcare quality improvement. Her core areas of specialization include Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), Clinical Risk Management, and Patient Safety. She received formal training as a Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) trainer from Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. Karthikayini has held progressive leadership roles in nursing, advancing from front-line clinical care to senior hospital administration. Her clinical experience encompasses a wide range of specialties, including general surgery, neurosurgery, vascular surgery, burns and plastic surgery, cardiothoracic, oncology, psychiatry, general medicine, hematology, neurology, ENT, orthopedics, and pediatrics. She also contributed to the development of in-house electronic medical record (EMR) systems at UMMC, including modules for the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), fall prevention, delirium assessment, and the House Officer Dashboard System.

Dr. Karthikayini also engaged with the Asian Society for Quality in Health Care (ASQua) and the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) for collaborative clinical projects related to patient safety and quality of care with various clinical stakeholders. Her involvement in these organizations reflects her commitment to advancing healthcare quality standards and promoting a culture of safety across healthcare systems in Malaysia and the Asia-Pacific region.

As a dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Karthikayini is actively engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education. She has delivered keynote addresses and lectures at numerous national and international conferences and has facilitated professional development workshops on patient safety, clinical nutrition, and falls prevention.

Her research interests focus on patient safety culture, fall prevention, medication safety in older adults, and interprofessional collaboration. Her scholarly work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Age and Ageing, International Journal of Clinical Practice, and Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

Dr. Karthikayini has received multiple awards and recognitions, including the Venus International Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing, the Hospital Management Asia Award for Financial Excellence in 2024, UMMC Excellence Service Awards, and commendations for her leadership in quality improvement at both national and international levels. She is a registered member of the Nursing Board of Malaysia, a life member of the Malaysian Nurses Association, and serves as a committee member of the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH), focusing on patient safety research and training.

With a steadfast commitment to advancing nursing practice and strengthening healthcare systems, Dr. Karthikayini continues to lead transformative initiatives aimed at improving patient care quality and clinical outcomes in Malaysia and beyond.