Michelle turns to a handy career while juggling work and kid
WILMA Walsh says the profile of hand therapy has developed in the past 20 years to the point where the national association now has 370 members.
The leading practitioner recently spent three days at CQUniversity Rockhampton conducting splinting workshops for residential school students from the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy degree.
Ms Walsh was one of the five founding members of the Australian Hand Therapy Association.
She is recognised as an expert in the field of hand/upper limb rehabilitation and has a special interest in the wrist, sporting injuries, flexor tendon injuries and fractures.
"Hand therapy is an appealing specialty because you can start to see good results straight away with appropriate treatment," Ms Walsh said.
Student Michelle Portelli said her mind was being opened to the diversity of OT career paths.
She juggles her study with work in the hospitality industry and being a mother to a teenage daughter.
She started study in occupational health and safety but was drawn to the rehabilitation aspects of OT as a career path.
"I've always been interested in anatomy and physiology," Ms Portelli said.
