Joelene Gathercole APAM, APA Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist

Mother of two, Traralgon, Victoria

In hindsight, setting up her private practice nine years ago allowed Joelene Gathercole to lay the foundations and create a flexible career to start a family.

Although single at the time she set up Goodlife Physiotherapy in Traralgon in Victoria’s east, Joelene realises now that she was methodically and deliberately putting steps in place that would allow her to be a physiotherapist and, eventually, a mother.

‘I was 33 when I started the business.

'And I thought, “Look, if I end up doing well then at least I know I can work part-time, earn a good wage and have a family.”

'I realised that the practice would pay me a good enough wage that I could work two or three days a week and support myself and a family.

'I’ve been pretty independent financially and quite driven by wanting to live a comfortable life and not stress about money.

'And I found that running my own practice worked in with that.’

Joelene met her Irish husband Eanna around the same time as completing her master’s in muscoloskeletal physiotherapy.

She recruited another physiotherapist into the practice which allowed her to take a six-week holiday to Ireland with Eanna—the ultimate test of how the business would function without her.

‘I think that was key to me being able to step back from the practice now as a parent, because I did that early on and I could let go.

'With the right technology and staff in place the business can run without me’ she says.

‘I’ve dropped back to working two days a week this year to support the children through kinder.’

Joelene Gathercole with her sons Jack and Tom and her husband Eanna.

Joelene says that along with the support of her husband and her family, the receptionists at the practice would also help care for her children while she consulted, which allowed her to continue breastfeeding, as she returned to work when the boys were six weeks old.

‘I was doing three sessions a week of four hours, just to get back into work.

'But I needed it mentally; I needed to be stimulated,’ Joelene says.

‘I had a separate room with a cot in it at the clinic and I could turn the light off and my son could go to sleep in there.

'It was great for the boys—and for me.’

Having a supportive husband, who also works full time, has meant that Joelene can travel to Melbourne or Sydney for a professional development course on a weekend when needed.

She keeps up with her learning through regular in-house training with the practice staff, and she meets regulatory requirements by doing PD courses online—something she began doing in earnest during the many COVID-19 lockdowns in Victoria.

Over the last nine years the business has grown to employ four physiotherapists, two reception staff, a dietitian, a counsellor and an orthotist.

‘It is tough, there is a lot of work at home and long hours but the flexibility is worth it,’ Joelene says.

As a female practice owner and a working mother, Joelene says she had few direct peers to help her navigate early parenthood.

Her mother, once a nurse, had worked throughout Joelene’s childhood but was also home for her children in the same way that Joelene is now home for her boys.

But with few female physiotherapy practice owners locally, Joelene says she was motivated by a piece of advice given to her from a physiotherapist who had been in the same situation.

‘Way before kids, at a PD event, another practice owner told me: “Take the kids in [to work].

"It works; the receptionists can help and the patients love it.

"Babies are easy.”

'So I have done that.

‘I never wanted to come back to work full-time… no disrespect to anyone who does that but I just wanted to be around for the kids.

'I remember my mum being around for school pick-ups and drop-offs so I’ve tried to do a bit of both, which has worked really well for me.’

When asked about her best piece of advice for new parents or parents-to-be, Joelene says it is important not to be too hard on yourself.

‘Give yourself a break.

'Anyone who has been a parent will understand your challenges.

'And it is important to have a boss who is understanding and a job that is flexible,’ she says.

Melinda Dennis APAM

Mother of one, Newcastle, New South Wales

Becoming a new parent, running a business and travelling with sporting teams has been a challenge for Melinda Dennis, physiotherapist and owner of Physio Connex Performance Clinic on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Add COVID-19 lockdowns and team bubbles into the mix and it becomes a real test of management abilities.

Melinda spent much of her early career working with her long-term mentor and boss, Brendan Clark.

At that time, Melinda was also playing representative touch football, one of many sporting pursuits she enjoyed through her childhood and into adulthood.

Encouraged by her husband Mark, Melinda decided to open her own clinic in 2017.

‘Five years ago my boss sold the private practice that I was working in and he was a huge part of my career; he was a mentor, a friend, someone I look up to, and essentially I couldn’t replace that role in my eyes, so I immediately knew it was time to move on,’ Melinda says.

‘I looked around at other private practices in my area and there weren’t many options to work in an environment with leaders of a similar age and similar experience to my old boss, who had connections in Rugby League, which was a huge passion for me.

'So, with encouragement from my family and my husband, we took the plunge and opened up Physio Connex with the idea that I could pave my own career path and pursue options in Rugby League.’

After adding more physiotherapists to the business, Melinda was able to travel more as a physio with the Central Coast and NRLW Roosters, Wyong Rugby League Club, NSWRL and the Australian Jillaroos.

The practice soon outgrew its original premises and in 2019 Melinda moved to a new building—just two months before she gave birth to her son Dexter.

‘I expanded the business in the two months before I had Dexter because the timing was right with the leases and I didn’t want to spend another year in a building I was outgrowing,’ she says.

Melinda Dennis with her son Dexter and husband Mark.

‘I wanted to move to a site that could hold in-house strength and conditioning services, so I could facilitate the entire rehab continuum for acute injury to performance—and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity just because I was pregnant.

'So we made the move in November 2019 and I had Dexter in January 2020.’

Melinda spent most of her maternity leave in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the downturn in clientele at the clinic, she decided to extend her maternity leave while the clinic practitioners continued to see clients during the early stages of the pandemic.

When it was announced in July 2020 that sporting events would resume in New South Wales, Melinda made the decision to transition back to work.

But that required a significant amount of juggling.

‘In 2020 when I had to go into a COVID-19 bubble for one of my NRLW campaigns, I needed to be in Sydney a couple of nights a week.

'My parents were able to commit to the restrictions of the bubble but my husband’s parents were unable to, so we lost a bit of help with Dexter there.

'But we did what we had to do to make it work,’ she says.

Initially Melinda’s work appointments at the clinic were structured around her breastfeeding times, a plan that evolved as her child’s needs did.

At 12 months old, Dexter was on solid food and Melinda restructured her schedule to be at the clinic three days a week and to work at football in the evenings and on weekends for game day.

She admits to sometimes feeling torn between her responsibilities as a clinic owner and as a mother.

‘There will be some weeks when I spend more time at work and the mum guilt kicks in big-time and then there are times when I am at home more often and I feel like I should be at work,’ she says.

‘For me, it is important that my staff always feel supported, so I’ve had to learn to do it in many different ways.

'Despite my love of organisation, I’ve learnt no week looks exact to the next.’

Melinda believes that new parents, or those thinking about starting a family, don’t need to put their career on the backburner.

‘I have never seen having children as a hindrance to my career.

'Disruption does exist due to being heavily pregnant and taking maternity leave, so things may not happen as you had originally pictured them.

'But I feel as though I have set goals regardless of those things and continue to strive towards them.

'If you show people that you are continually showing up with the same work ethic and drive, I feel opportunities will always be there.’