Part One: Where It All Began
Nearly 30 years in podiatry have taught me a great deal about feet — but perhaps even more about the importance of questioning, learning and being willing to change.
As I approach 30 years as a podiatrist, I’ve found myself reflecting on how much has changed — not only in the way I practise, but in me.
My journey towards becoming a functional podiatrist didn’t happen overnight. In many ways, it began long before I even knew what functional podiatry was.
So I thought I’d go back to where it all began.
🌱 Starting Out at 22
I graduated from La Trobe University at the end of 1996, eager to work, learn and say yes to almost every opportunity that came my way.
I was 22 years old and, looking back, incredibly young for some of the environments I was about to enter.
Very early in my career, I found myself working as a solo podiatrist and needing equipment of my own.
At 22, I took out my first loan, went to Briggate Medical with my parents and bought my first set of instruments and podiatry drill.
Suddenly, everything felt very real — and more than a little frightening.
I remember feeling completely unprepared. I hadn’t even had my driver’s licence for very long, yet before I knew it, I was travelling all over Melbourne with two suitcases of instruments and my drill, going wherever the work took me.
What I did have was a strong work ethic and a fierce determination to get on with things.
My parents had taught me that if there was work to be done, you did it. You faced the challenge in front of you and did whatever was needed.
For that, I will always be grateful.
So, prepared or not, I packed up my equipment, got in the car and went to work.
🚗 Going Wherever the Work Took Me
Those early years took me just about everywhere.
I worked in community health and private practices, nursing homes and aged-care facilities, and even at Larundel, the former psychiatric hospital.
I also began building my own private work, renting rooms at the back of pharmacies across different parts of Melbourne. I continued doing that for many years in the early stages of my career.
Some of those environments were a real eye-opener for a 22-year-old with very little life experience.
Larundel could be confronting, particularly because I had virtually no background in mental health. Aged care brought an entirely different learning curve.
But perhaps the most important lesson those early years taught me was about myself.
💭 Learning Who I Was
I had grown up quite sheltered, in a strict and traditional family.
I had always been the child who followed the rules, and I hadn’t had much independence or experience of the world beyond what was familiar.
Suddenly, I was driving all over Melbourne, walking into unfamiliar workplaces, dealing with situations I had never encountered before and figuring things out as I went.
Some of it frightened me.
Much of it pushed me well beyond my comfort zone.
But I kept showing up.
Over time, I began to realise that I was far more resilient and adaptable than I had ever imagined.
I could walk into unfamiliar spaces, face things that scared me, work them out and grow through the experience.
Looking back, I think I was learning much more than how to be a podiatrist.
I was learning who I was.
And perhaps that willingness to step into unfamiliar territory would become more important to my career than I could possibly have known at 22.
Because many years later, I would find myself outside my comfort zone again — this time questioning some of the very things I had been taught about feet, footwear and the way I practised podiatry.
But that part of the story came later.