Julie Rogers APAM did not grow up dreaming of working in aged care. 

Like many young physiotherapists, she initially saw her future in private practice or hospital rehabilitation, treating sports injuries, restoring movement and working in the more visible, high-energy spaces of the profession. 

But over more than three decades, Julie has established herself as a highly respected physiotherapist in aged care on the New South Wales Central Coast, building a service from scratch at Adventist Senior Living (ASL) and becoming a senior leader of a large multidisciplinary team.

Julie’s first connection to aged care was made long before she became a clinician.

As a child in the 1960s, Julie visited her grandfather at the Charles Harrison Memorial Home – the site that would later become ASL. Decades later, Julie would return to the same halls with her own young children to visit her grandmother. 

These experiences quietly helped shape her understanding of aging.

Julie graduated university in 1982.

‘It normalised it to a certain extent. Watching my grandfather pass away in aged care and then later my grandmother – it was just part of life, really.’

At the time, however, Julie never imagined she would one day work in that environment. 

Like many school leavers, she didn’t decide on physiotherapy until midway through Year 12. 

Julie had originally planned to be a teacher – a path she would, in many ways, return to through mentoring and education later in her career. 

Julie’s father encouraged her to consider other options, taking her to visit the physiotherapy school in Camperdown in Sydney and arranging meetings with lecturers and hospital departments. 

Combined with her interest in science and working with people, physiotherapy began to feel like a better, more natural fit.

Julie graduated from the Cumberland College of Health Sciences (now part of the University of Sydney) in 1982 and completed two years at the Royal Newcastle Hospital under the influential leadership of Norma Grey (later Norma Sabiel) – a pioneering figure in physiotherapy in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales. 

Those early years gave her a strong clinical foundation and a sense of the profession’s potential to expand beyond traditional boundaries.

The role she never planned to take

Despite her training, Julie still assumed private practice would be her ultimate destination. 

‘I always thought private practice would be the pinnacle because that’s how you see physio – treating musculoskeletal injuries. 

'So when I first went into aged care, I thought I’d earn some money while I’ve got young kids.’

Initially, her entry into ASL was not part of a grand career plan. The director of nursing had called her to ask if she could come in for just six hours a week. 

What was meant to be a six-month trial gradually turned into a lifetime commitment. But in those early days, there was no existing physiotherapy service at the organisation. 

There was no job description, no established systems and no precedent for what her role should look like.

‘I just walked in and looked for a need. You get to know the residents, you get to know the staff and they get to know what skills you have to offer.’ 

Julie continually found new ways to be involved and her willingness to step up allowed her to shape the role in meaningful ways.

Change, challenge and complexity

Working in aged care in the late 1980s and 1990s was very different from today. There was no lifting equipment, fewer regulatory standards and a very different expectation of care. 

‘The standards back then were very different. My first patients had fought in World War I; they weren’t used to luxuries in life.

'People expect a lot more from aged care now and there’s far more complexity involved.’

As government funding models changed – from the Residential Classification Scale to the Aged Care Funding Instrument and
beyond – Julie found herself navigating not just clinical work but systems, policy and funding realities. 

She resisted practices that prioritised revenue over resident wellbeing and advocated strongly for meaningful exercise programs when many facilities were pushing massage simply because it attracted government funding. 

For Julie it was all about making the most of the government funding to do good things for the residents.

Julie’s ability to balance clinical integrity with pragmatic realities helped build trust with management and cement her role as a key decision-maker within the organisation – necessary when there are 165 residents with complex health needs awaiting care.

From sole clinician to team leader

Over time, Julie’s role expanded from six hours to full-time. At its peak during the Aged Care Funding Instrument era, the allied health service at ASL delivered more than 220 hours of physiotherapy and occupational therapy per week. 

Julie emphasises the importance of mobility.

Today, Julie leads a team of seven allied health professionals and maintains a strong presence in the facility.

But the transformation from lone clinician into senior leader did not happen overnight.

It was a gradual shift shaped by relationships, respect and a broad understanding of aged care as an ecosystem rather than just a clinical setting. 

Julie speaks with deep admiration about the registered nurses at ASL, who carry enormous responsibility in aged care in the absence of outside doctors. 

‘They do an incredible job. I look up to them in awe.’

Julie encourages younger physiotherapists to understand that in aged care, they are not only advocates for residents but also part of a system that must consider staff safety, accreditation requirements, finances and family expectations. 

For Julie, what makes aged care physiotherapy so compelling is its complexity and need for problem-solving. 

In addition to physical mobility, this means considering the residents’ social background, family dynamics, mental health, cognition and personal values.

‘When I was younger, I enjoyed the muscle and movement aspect of restorative physiotherapy. 

'But here, we need to look at the whole person. This is their home. They don’t have to do any physio. So number one is: what is important to them?’

Focus on falls

The theme of April Falls Month resonates strongly with Julie’s work. 

Falls prevention is central to her daily practice – both in reducing injury and in preserving independence, confidence and participation in life. 

Julie and her manager attended the Australia and New Zealand Falls Prevention Conference in Hobart in 2018 and returned to work inspired by Jennifer Hewitt’s presentation on the Sunbeam program. 

The allied health team at ASL established a STABLE for Life program, which has continued to the present time and is greatly enjoyed and appreciated by residents.

Sometimes the impact of physiotherapy is life-changing – helping someone stand long enough to get in and out of a car for family visits or maintain a few steps of walking rather than becoming fully reliant on a hoist. 

‘If you can keep someone able to weight bear even for a few steps getting out of a car, that can make an enormous difference to their life. In the semirural setting here, wheelchair taxis are hard to get – so standing and transferring can be the difference between going out with family or not.’

Julie is also realistic about the limits of what physiotherapy can achieve, particularly as residents are entering aged care later and with more complex health conditions than in the past. 

‘I used to go home exhausted some days, thinking, “I tried really hard and I couldn’t fix everything.” But then there are other days when you think, this person wouldn’t have been able to do that if it weren’t for me.’

More than a team

One of Julie’s greatest sources of pride is the allied health team she leads. 

Working with older clients has shaped Julie’s views on aging.

At ASL, physiotherapists and occupational therapists sit within the ‘lifestyle team’, alongside diversional therapists and spiritual care staff – a structure that frames rehabilitation as part of living, not just clinical treatment. 

‘We respect each other’s roles but we’re also prepared to help each other. We’re kind of aged-care therapists together.’

She describes the team as feeling like family – built on trust, shared values and a willingness to learn. 

Her mentoring style reflects that ethos. She deliberately gives new graduates time to grow rather than expecting them to hit the ground running. 

'I try not to put too much time pressure on them at the start. I want them to understand why they’re here, not just how to do a test.’

Strength in association

Alongside her clinical work, Julie is a longstanding member of the APA, joining as a student in 1981. 

She remains deeply committed to the organisation, particularly the Gerontology national group, of which she is a member. 

Julie says she values the APA’s advocacy work with government, especially in aged care funding debates, recalling how physiotherapists warned against unintended consequences of the old Aged Care Funding Instrument system before its implementation.

‘You need coordinated representation. At the coalface, you’re subject to government decisions so having the APA behind you matters.’

Lessons learned

After more than 30 years in the same organisation, Julie still wakes up looking forward to going to work. 

‘I come to work thinking, “What am I going to find today?” I like that surprise.’ 

Working with older people has also shaped her views on aging. 

‘You certainly learn what you want to be like when you’re old. 

'I want to stay outward-looking, interested in people and physically active.’ 

Her love of long-distance hiking, including multiple treks along Tasmania’s Overland Track, is part of that philosophy. 

‘How I am now will determine how I will be in my late 80s.’

For new graduate physiotherapists who may never have considered aged care, Julie has this to say. 

‘You use exactly the same skills you use everywhere in physio – gathering data, analysing, testing, evaluating. You just apply them in a more complex human context.’

Her experience in occupational rehabilitation, in which she worked for a while before making aged care her focus, helped reinforce this view, teaching her to think about multiple stakeholders – residents, their families, staff and management. 

‘Even if aged care isn’t your first choice, you might be surprised. You’ll learn things here that you won’t learn anywhere else. 

'I’ve learned a lot. Don’t avoid difficult conversations and that can be up the ladder or down the ladder. Sweeping something under the carpet or talking to a third party about a problem is not helpful.’

A quiet reflection

While Julie is very humble when it comes to talking about her own career, she has quietly transformed how physiotherapy is understood and delivered at ASL and, by extension, for hundreds of older people and their families.

From a young mother taking on six hours of casual work to a senior leader shaping policy, culture and care, Julie’s career
reflects the evolving role of physiotherapists in aged care. 

As April Falls Month highlights the importance of mobility, falls prevention and dignity later in life, Julie’s experiences stand as a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful careers begin where they are least expected and that working with older people can be one of the most challenging, rewarding and impactful paths a physiotherapist can take.