Tahlia Mollard first took an interest in podiatry when she and her siblings were fitted for orthotics in primary school. Now she works as a a Senior Podiatrist at Dandenong Hospital, read more about Tahlia’s experience below.
If you’d like to learn more about a career in Podiatry at Monash Health, take a look at our Allied Health Careers page.
Tahlia, tell us about your role and what lead you to being a Podiatrist at Monash Health?
I am the Senior Podiatrist at Dandenong Hospital and work in a team of 10 podiatrists. My team and I look after individuals with acute foot complications, including wounds/ulcerations, traumatic injuries and amputations. We facilitate the management and treatment of both inpatients and outpatients and work with a multidisciplinary team in our high-risk foot clinic with endocrinology and vascular surgeons.
My siblings and I unfortunately required orthotics at a young age, so from primary school I understood the vital role podiatrists play in keeping individuals active and mobile so they can live a pain-free life. This experience fed my interest in the human body and movement, which led me to study podiatry.
I started at Monash Health as a graduate podiatrist at Dandenong Hospital in 2020, just as the pandemic was starting. I always knew I wanted to work in the public sector of podiatry, and I felt very fortunate to get this role in my first year out.
Since starting at Monash, my appreciation for the important role that public health plays in providing care to an array of diverse individuals continues to grow.
Can you walk us through a typical day at work?
A typical day at work for me is hard to know as it can be very different every day, which is what I love about my job.
In acute, bed-based podiatry we mainly treat and manage complex wounds within an inpatient setting. These can include wounds that are traumatic in nature, surgical wounds such as amputations, infected wounds, chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, etc. We work closely with other medical teams such as vascular, orthopaedics and endocrinology to make a plan that best suits the patient.
We also run an outpatient clinic each day that assists with more chronic wounds within the community that are referred to us by internal specialist clinics as well as GPs, community centres, rural/regional hospitals and private podiatry clinics.
We have a weekly high-risk foot clinic which involves our multi-disciplinary team including vascular and endocrinology consultants and our diabetes nurse educators., in this clinic we see complex patients with complicated wounds and foot history.
What’s the culture like in your team?
The culture in podiatry is fantastic! We have a real emphasis on teamwork within our department, and no task is too big or too small when helping your colleagues.
Podiatry also works within a bigger multidisciplinary team with many other medical professionals, which is enjoyable and an important part of our patient-centred care approach.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I really enjoy the unknown of walking into work each day. It keeps it fun and exciting; I also love the people I work with and the team I have around me.
We aim to get our patients back on their feet as soon as possible and the feeling you get when it’s been a success, is the best!
Why did you choose to pursue a career at Monash Health?
I was fortunate enough to have a university placement within a Monash Health community site as a podiatry student. Everyone I worked with within that placement loved their job and couldn’t speak more highly of Monash Health, this showed me how great of an organisation Monash Health was, which made me want to work there once I graduated.
Monash Health’s care for teaching and research not only helped me when I was a student but also accelerated my learning and opportunities since starting my career here in 2020.
Can you share a particularly memorable experience or patient interaction from your career that has stayed with you over time?
There are many memorable moments since starting my career in podiatry, but I think the ones that stand out are the patients that come in with chronic wounds that they have had for a number of years. These patients come in very frustrated and fed up with their situation and think there isn’t anything else that can be done. We work very closely with them and find a management plan that suits them as an individual, which often has the best outcomes. When these patients heal and are discharged from our service, they are so thankful and happy for our care and services.
The reward and fulfilment I get from their progress is what makes it all worth it.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in pursuing a career in Podiatry?
I couldn’t recommend it more! I tell all my friends and family about how much I love my job, and they are probably sick of hearing me talk about it non-stop! There are many different aspects of podiatry after university, but public health will always be the place for me.
The interaction you get with people every day (including medical staff and patients) is what gets me out of bed. It is beyond fulfilling and rewarding!
Finally, what do you hope to achieve in your career as a Podiatrist, and what kind of impact do you hope to have on your patients and the wider healthcare community?
I hope to continue being a part of our centre of excellence in our high-risk foot department and providing quality care to all our patients. Providing patient-centred care within the continuum of healthcare is a huge passion of mine, and I would like to continue to motivate patients to take initiative in their foot health.
Overall, I count my lucky stars every day of how fortunate I am to work in a job I love, and I hope to continue.
Interested in joining Monash Health’s Allied Health team? Take a look at our Allied Health Careers page to browse our latest vacancies and find out more about working at Victoria’s largest health service.
