I am an 82-year-old retired physio but I’ve found that you never fully retire. 

I constantly get questions from friends and students, leaving me feeling morally obligated to keep abreast of things. 

In 1963 I completed a Diploma of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney and began working in public hospitals in Sydney. 

I also lectured second-year students at the School of Physiotherapy, co-located at the University of Sydney, with Professor Roberta Shepherd FACP before she left for London. 

I moved to the United Kingdom with my husband in 1967. 

I worked at the City of London Maternity Hospital, St Helier Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. 

While in London, I completed a course on treatment for stroke patients with Berta Bobath MBE and another on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation with Dena Gardiner. 

My young family and I returned to Australia in 1975 and I worked at the R.A. Phillips Rehabilitation Unit (now the Phillips MS Centre) in Chatswood. 

There was no childcare then so my infant daughter came to work with me for two years. In 1981 I started a private practice in Hunters Hill and I retired in 2002. 

I joined the Physiotherapy Emeritus Group; I’ve always felt it is important to keep up with the latest research for anyone with an ageing body. 

For a time, I worked as a locum around New South Wales. 

I also began teaching health professionals in Indonesia about rehabilitation practices—it was very common for patients to recuperate in bed without any active treatment. 

The Physiotherapy Emeritus Group, which I’ve chaired for the past 10 years, holds three informative lectures annually at Australian Catholic University. 

Apart from the lectures, I certainly enjoy the social side. It is always fun catching up with other physios. 

Trish Evans APAM will present a lecture on total hip replacement on 10 July at Australian Catholic University, Level 6, 8–10 Berry Street, North Sydney. For more information or to join the group, contact Barbara Dorsch at ndorsch@ozemail.com.au or Amanda Leyten at mandy.leyten@gmail.com