Podiatry

Welcome

Welcome to your Podiatry placement at Monash Health. At Monash Health, we are committed to providing a supportive learning environment with opportunities focusing on the development, expansion, and application of clinical skills. Please review the following information carefully prior to the commencement of your placement. We look forward to having you on placement, if you have any questions, concerns or challenges then please don’t hesitate to contact the Podiatry Student Coordinator.

Student Coordinator

Kasthuri Ramachandran
E: podstudentcoord@monashhealth.org

Site Contacts

The Podiatry Student Coordinator will email you at least 2 weeks in advance with information regarding your clinical placement, including your clinical site and supervisors. If you don’t receive this information by this time, please contact PodStudentCoord@monashhealth.org.

Please contact each of your site supervisors at least 1 WEEK prior to placement to confirm placement location, hours and meeting arrangements.

Clinical Placement Hours

You will be based across multiple sites during your clinical placement. Clinical placement hours and morning tea/lunch breaks will vary between sites and should be discussed with each of your site supervisors.

Uniform

Your university uniform should be worn at all times (unless otherwise stated by your clinical agency).

Your ID badge must be worn at all times.

Discipline and Site Specific Services

Please see the section in the table below for information specific to your clinical site.

Clinical site

Services and information

Monash Medical Centre
(Clayton)

The team sees inpatients admitted to hospital as well as outpatients attending appointments.

There is a weekly multidisciplinary ward round with the Vascular, Diabetes, Infectious Diseases and Renal medical teams for inpatients being managed for high risk foot pathology.

Dandenong Hospital

The team sees inpatients admitted to hospital as well as outpatients attending appointments.

There is a weekly multidisciplinary ward round with the Vascular, Diabetes, Infectious Diseases and Renal medical teams for inpatients being managed for diabetes-related foot ulceration.

There is also a weekly multidisciplinary radiology meeting for team consensus on patient management.

The High Risk Foot Clinic runs weekly with Vascular and Diabetes medical teams as well as dietetics and diabetes nurse education. This outpatient clinic sees patients who require multidisciplinary management of their high risk foot pathology.

Casey Hospital

Casey Hospital Podiatry Department provides a service two days a week.

The team sees only inpatients admitted to an acute or subacute hospital bed.

The Kingston Centre

The Kingston Centre Podiatry Department provides a service two days a week.

The team sees only inpatients admitted to a subacute hospital bed. Patients here have been transferred from the acute hospital sites for rehabilitation.

The Footwear Program is based out of Kingston; this is run by the Podiatry Allied Health Assistant who fits, measures and sells shoes to Monash Health Podiatry patients.

Complex Care Podiatry
(122 Thomas St, Dandenong Hospital, Monash Medical Centre)

Complex Care Podiatry is the link between the bed-based and community teams. It services patients who have presented to hospital and required admission because of a high risk foot pathology.

Complex Care Podiatry attend the High Risk Foot Clinic and work closely with Vascular, Diabetes, Infectious Diseases and Radiology teams.

The podiatrist’s role includes: management of Charcot foot, wound assessment and management, and prescription and modification of long-tern offloading devices.

Greater Dandenong Community Health Service

122 Thomas St
Springvale

Greater Dandenong Community Health services provide podiatry services to all ages. Podiatry services are provided across two sites, with the focus to promote independence through education and self-care.

The podiatrist’s role includes: diabetes assessment and education, routine general care, wound management, musculoskeletal assessment and management and paediatrics.

Cardinia Casey Community Health Service

Pakenham
Cranbourne
Berwick

Cardinia Casey Community Health services provide podiatry services to all ages. Podiatry services are provided across three sites, with the focus to promote independence through education and self-care. Podiatry practitioners across the service sit within multidisciplinary teams focusing on chronic and complex conditions, frail and aged, and early years.

The podiatrist’s role includes: diabetes assessment and education, routine general care, wound management, musculoskeletal assessment and management and paediatrics.

Paediatrics Podiatry

Our community paediatric podiatrists provide services across four sites (Cranbourne, Thomas Street, Pakenham and Springvale), and work alongside the paediatric physiotherapist.

Home Based Allied Health
(Parkdale)

The Home Based Allied Health Service Podiatry department is part of a multidisciplinary allied health team offering home based care to frail older people and people with disabilities who are unable to leave their homes to access community services.

Home visits may require completion of: multidisciplinary Screening Tool, podiatry initial assessment, care plan, routine general podiatric care, diabetes foot assessment and education, footwear assessment and fitting.

Recommended Student Preparation

Students should familiarise themselves with the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot Guidelines.

Students should also revise on the following areas:

Neurovascular foot assessment, interpretation of results and patient education
Foot ulceration aetiologies
Stages of pressure injury
Wound assessment
Wound dressing types
Wound offloading techniques
Charcot foot pathophysiology, assessment and management