Being able to get active and play with friends in childhood is fundamental to healthy growth and development.
So, when a visit to the podiatrist as a child helped Paediatric Podiatrist Antoni Caserta be able to do just that, he knew straight away he wanted to do the same for others when he got older.
“I really enjoy the science, the physics and the complexity surrounding the way people move, so I naturally gravitated towards podiatry,” he said.
“We want to ensure children can develop and gain skills like any other children would, so by helping reduce pain that might be restricting them from doing that, we can really help them participate with their peers.”
Working in both the public and private sectors for the last 12 years, Antoni said his role at Monash Health had influenced his work at his private practise in unique ways.
“My patients at my private practise are 90 per cent paediatric, whereas most podiatrists only see one to two per cent paediatric patients privately,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to start my career in a part-time position in the paediatric team at Monash Health when I was a new graduate, which meant my exposure and scope of practise in that area developed very quickly.
“This has meant over time my skillset is far superior than it would have been if I had only been in the private sector the whole time, as I’ve been able to see far more children in the public space and many more complex cases.”Working in the public health sector at Monash Health has opened up a wealth of opportunities for Paediatric Podiatrist Antoni Caserta.A podiatrist is a health professional that assesses and manages the pathology of the lower limb or foot, and helps treat movement-related injuries, pain, orthopaedic, neurological, genetic or metabolic complications.
Working privately has also taught Antoni skills which have helped open more opportunities for him at Monash Health.
“Privately I work as a contractor, so it teaches you to build in efficiencies and learn the commercial side of healthcare,” he said.
“These skills are transferable, and my ability to self-evaluate is part of the reason why I may have been asked to be a senior clinician at Monash Health.”
Because of his broad skillset, Antoni has recently taken the opportunity to work as a Project Manager in the Infant Child and Health Wellbeing Hub.
“I also hold casual lecturing positions at both Monash University and Latrobe University and have recently been able to complete a PhD which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I wasn’t working in the public sector,” he said.
“It’s also been helping me in the private sector as I now receive referrals for those children that my PhD focused on.”Paediatric Podiatrist Antoni Caserta predominantly works with children aged between four and eight years old, like four-year-old Quinn pictured above.All in all, the paediatric podiatrist said working in the public sector enabled him the opportunity to build skills and learn, which naturally and organically transferred across to his work privately.
“I feel like the public sector provides you with a good long-term career trajectory, where the number of opportunities allows you to constantly upskill and try new things,” he said.
“Just working privately as a graduate might narrow your scope and field of work, while working publicly will set you up for success through learning transferable skills, receiving excellent supervision and experiencing the non-clinical components the private sector just doesn’t offer.”
Antoni said there is no limit to where podiatry can take you.
“In other industries, you may have to be somewhere from nine to five which doesn’t allow you the opportunity to work in many areas at once,” he said.
“There is so much flexibility and choice here, and you can mould your career to be whatever you want it to be, and you can work as little or as much as you want.
“Starting your career in the public sector would be the best thing a new graduate can do, so they can build up the scope and expertise to really harness all that’s on offer in the field of podiatry.”
If you’re interested in an Allied Health role at Monash Health, head to our careers website today to check out our current opportunities.
