What are your professional interests/specialities?

I have been a physio for 27 years so over this period I have explored many areas of physiotherapy.   I have a particular love of musculoskeletal conditions as well as assisting people with persistent pain.
I have recently expanded my skill set to include Pelvic / Women’s health to further integrate of person care.
Beyond seeing clients, I love being an advocate for allied health and physiotherapy.  I love mentoring and providing education to my team and to others in the medical community.

What services do you offer?
My clinic has a large multidisciplinary team so we are able to an expansive list of services.  These include sports, injury management, preventative health, pre-operative and post-operative physiotherapy; pain management; Women’s / Pelvic health, occupational health services; exercise physiology; NDIS; Pilates / Movement based therapy; gym and hydrotherapy.

Tell us, why did you decide to come to Kalgoorlie to continue your career?
I was trained in Canada and came to Australia to complete my Masters degree at the University of Western Australia.   After the competition of my degree, I travelled to Kalgoorlie to re-connect with people I met at University for Christmas.  It was during this trip that I met my future husband, who work as a Boilermaker in the mining sector, and subsequently decided to relocate permanently to Australia.  Once settled in I found Kalgoorlie very welcoming and a great place to set down roots.

What are the benefits of choosing to practise career in a rural setting?
I love working in a rural setting.  The community is so welcoming and everyone, your colleagues, your clients want to see you succeed and want to help you succeed.  These connections are deeply meaningful.

Working regionally means there is a huge amount of diversity in the types of cases you see.  This means you get to flex your clinical reasoning and skillset on a daily basis.  It has encouraged me to become competent in a wide range of areas.  It has encouraged me to to develop increased resourcefulness, become more innovated and develop a high level of flexibility. Because you will inevitably run into people you treat you get to see your successes and your failures which inevitably makes you a much better clinician.
I also love that I don’t have to waste time commuting are dealing with the “hustle and bustle” of a city.  This laid back county lifestyle and time saved means I have been able to engage more in the community and with my hobbies.

What do you love about the Goldfields?
There are so many things I love about the Goldfields.  First and foremost are the people.  The community of Kalgoorlie is so amazing and so welcoming.

Beyond the people I will never get tired of the bush and our amazing sunrises, sunsets and thunderstorms.   There is something magical about these and the opportunities here are endless.  If you have the right attitude and commitment you can pretty much do anything.

What are your passions?
Outside of physio I love pretty much anything outdoors.  I love sport fishing and take every opportunity to get a line in whether it is in Esperance or further afield.

What does it mean to you winning the Rising Star award?

I am honoured to win rising star award, there were several incredible health practitioners honoured on the night. Including all the nominated health professionals from the goldfields, Dr Kylie Sterry and Dr Pushpika Gunarante. It highlighted some of the amazing work happening in rural health communities.

What are your professional interests/specialities?
I have broad interest in so many areas of physiotherapy, working in private practice in Kalgoorlie, you are exposed to many different areas, more of a generalist. I have keen interest in some of the paediatric, chronic pain and neurological clients – I work with, also really enjoy the musculoskeletal rehabilitation program.

Did you always want to be a Physiotherapist?
I was always clear on working in health from quite early on, once I started studying physiotherapy it became very clear that is what I wanted to do. The last 3 years of practice have been a roller coaster. Diane Rowan has been such a fantastic mentor over this time and played a huge role in shaping the therapist I am today.

Tell us, why did you decide to come home to Kalgoorlie to start/continue your career?
I always loved Kalgoorlie community, I thoroughly enjoyed growing up in Goldfields. Through even my studies I was always open to completing a rural placement, I value community and really like making a difference in people lives. This is certainly something I feel I can do in Kalgoorlie.

What are the benefits of choosing to start your career in a rural setting?
Rural setting allows me to be exposed to so many kinds of physiotherapy, which I really enjoy. I also feel rural health is about teamwork, we are an alliance trying to do our best for those in the communities we service. I enjoy being part of that journey with people.

What are your passions?
Helping people and learning. Which is something I can implement in Kalgoorlie. There are so many opportunities to help people, in and out of work. Learning is something I enjoy, I feels like we are constantly learning off my clients, peers, mentors ect. Flexibility we can have in the practice means I can undertake a number of different professional development courses.

What do you love about the Goldfields?
The people and the community, I enjoy that everyone is willing the lends a hand or chip in to help. I also enjoy building relationships with clients to help them achieve their goals.