Put the best foot forward

You hear about working hand over fist, but what about over feet? For many people podiatry may not sound a glamorous career but Mellicia Day, 23, has had her mind set on it since she was seven years old.

“I went with Mum to a podiatrist. From a seven-year-old’s point of view it looked fascinating. She [the podiatrist] had scalpels!” she says.

Day graduated from Charles Sturt University last year and went straight to work at Susan Moore Podiatry. She says rapidly finding employment is usual for this career.

“You will never, ever be out of work. We’re in high demand because there is something like one podiatrist for every 20,000 people. I had four job offers when I graduated,” she says.

When Day began her course it was only offered at Albury. It is now also at Newcastle and Western Sydney Universities.

She says it is suited to people interested in the human body and how it works, as studying podiatry is like doing a mini medical degree, with a demanding and holistic course.

“A lot of my patients ask `why do you go to uni for four years to cut toenails?’. But it’s a lot more than that. The foot is connected to your whole body. It’s about knowing all about the human body,” Day says.

Feet are often overlooked as a cause for concern, but Day says they are an important part of the body.

“People don’t realise how important their feet are until something happens. One corn and they’re miserable, and yet it’s so easy to treat. When you take the pain away they look at you like you’re an angel.”

Angel or not, Day found out quickly that podiatry is not for the queasy.

“Being a podiatrist you’ve got to get used to blood and pus. You can’t have a weak stomach,” she says.

Only seven months into her career, Day is already ambitious to make a difference, not only to her patients, but to the profession as well.

“I want to get involved in the political side of podiatry, get involved with the boards. I want to have a say in what we do and how we do it,” she says.

“I’m still learning about myself and what I can handle. The best part of my job is when a problem is solved and they [the patient] get their quality of life back. ”

Qualifications
To become a practitioner you need a bachelors degree and to be registered with a state podiatry registration board.

Course
The degree is offered at the University of Newcastle, the University of Western Sydney and at the Albury campus of Charles Sturt University.

Assumed knowledge
It’s a good idea to study biology and PDHPE at high school.

From the inside
Mellicia Day (above), who completed her Bachelor of Podiatry at Charles Sturt and now works in Wentworthville, says: “They say if you get less then 85 [UAI] then you are going to struggle with the course. But I believe if you have the passion that’s going to get you through.”