I’m Julie :)

I grew up on a cattle station in remote Queensland Australia. I was home schooled and spent as much time as I could riding horses and mustering cattle.

I have been fascinated with hands since I was a kid. When I was 4 years old I was electrocuted and ended up with a L) RF amputation through P1. This sparked a life long interest.

I believe that our hands connect us with who we are as people. When I am treating clients I am acutely aware of how huge the impact of their injury is on every aspect of their lives.

This is my ‘why’ for being a hand therapist. It is also my ‘why’ for The Hands Institute.

I love learning and my learning style is very much a mixture of all the styles. This is what I want to bring to our courses. There will be something for every type of learner - and it will be fun!

I completed my Bachelor of Occupational Therapy in 2008 from James Cook University (JCU) in Townsville. Going to uni so close to home allowed me to travel home on weekends and ride horses :)

I was determined to work in hand therapy throughout uni and I received the advice to work in a rotational position in a hospital before specialising. This was great advice and I believe it has made me a more well rounded therapist than I would have been if I had specialised straight away.

The first job I was offered was at The Canberra Hospital and I really enjoyed my time in the cold! I moved home and worked at The Townsville Hospital before moving into private hand therapy practice. While in the public hospital I was lucky enough to gain experience in a range of upper limb conditions including neurological, orthopaedic, plastic and trauma.

Highlights of my career include:

• Certified Hand Therapist 2015

• Accredited Hand Therapist 2018

• Tutoring splinting at JCU 2013

• Developing a course for QLD Health and JCU Orthosis and Cast Fabrication and lecturing same 2018 - current

Check out my Linkedin profile for more details of my PD