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Sarah Connery, a podiatrist and clinic owner, has worked in the field for over a decade. She started her own business in 2016 specialising in mobile podiatry services.
Sydney Mobile Podiatry serves most of Sydney’s suburbs and focuses on aged care and NDIS clients and settings.
Travelling around the city from her home in Cremorne, Connery admits it is “a lot” but “manageable” with no two days the same. “I like being out of the office rather than being in a room all day,” she tells Australian Ageing Agenda.
“When I go around and see all the older people it’s also a social visit. I get to hear all their stories and I really enjoy that aspect of it.”
Connery offers tailored services during each visit, including routine foot and nail care and health condition-related checks. She dedicates time outside of client visits to administrative tasks.
“For a lot of the aged care clients I see, it involves routine foot care – nails, corns and calluses – but a lot of people have diabetes and other health conditions and need extra assessments for their blood flow and their nerves,” she says.
“Some people have issues with how they’re walking, for example, so there’s extra things we need to look at there. It really depends on the person.”
Connery tells AAA that she communicates with her clients’ doctors and care managers and also refers clients to physiotherapists when required.
Podiatry is an important service for the elderly, who often find it challenging to care for their feet, she says.
“As you get older – whether it’s your back, your hips or your knees – they’re always difficult to attend to, but your feet are the furthest thing away from you.”
She adds: “There’s so much I’ve learned about the human body, different systems and the feet, you get to use that knowledge to help people. A lot of ailments present in the feet and it could be related to all different parts of the body. You get to use your knowledge about lots of different things.”
Despite loving her job, it comes with some unavoidable ergonomic challenges.
“My job is quite physical,” she says. “There’s a lot of bending of your neck and your back. I have to make sure that I’m doing things the best way I can to look after my body and then I can keep doing this for a long time.”
Regular exercise and massages remain non-negotiable for Connery since she qualified as a podiatrist in 2015 after completing a bachelor’s degree in health sciences at The University of Sydney and a master’s degree in podiatric medicine at Western Sydney University.
She emphasises the importance of learning on the job because practical experience is crucial.
“A lot of things you learn as you do them, because when you’re training, learning things out of a book is one thing but actually seeing people and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together; that is a whole other thing,” she says.
When it comes to demand for services, Connery notes that podiatry home visits for the aged are in high demand due to the difficulty of accessing foot care as people age.
As our conversation comes to a close, Connery notes the trust and vulnerability involved in her role, as patients often share personal stories during visits, likening the relationship between the podiatrist and client to one someone might have with a hairdresser.
“People say they always tell [hairdressers] all their problems,” she explains.
“I find that when I’m sitting there and doing their feet, they’re comfortable in their own home and a lot of people tell you a lot of things.”
She adds with a smile: “That’s a really interesting part of the job to be honest; getting the low down on the neighbourhood block.”
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