Every podiatrist has a story about how they found the profession, but Liz Emrys’ journey is certainly one of the more unusual ones I’ve heard.
Liz didn’t graduate as a podiatrist until her 40s. Before that, she’d helped build a school near the Thai-Burma border, lived and worked in refugee communities, contracted malaria five times, worked in HIV prevention in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, and became involved in public health programs within the Indonesian prison system.
And then, eventually, she found podiatry.
Finding Home in Thailand
Liz’s story really begins when she was studying communications at university.
At just 20 years of age, Liz and a group of friends travelled to Thailand to help build a school for refugees near the Burmese border. What was supposed to be a six-week experience became something much bigger.
Liz describes arriving in the area and immediately feeling overwhelmed, as if she’d somehow come home.
After returning to Australia, she couldn’t shake that feeling. So while others were beginning their conventional post-university careers, Liz decided to go back.
She spent around two years there and continued travelling back and forth to Thailand for years afterwards.
Public Health, PNG and HIV Prevention
Liz’s experiences eventually led her into public health and Papua New Guinea, where she became involved in HIV prevention.
At the time, PNG presented enormous public health challenges, and Liz found herself working in situations very different from anything she’d experienced in Australia.
She later completed a Master’s in Public Health and worked in qualitative research, drug and alcohol research and social policy.
But the pull towards international work hadn’t disappeared.
Working in Indonesia
An unexpected phone call eventually took Liz and her husband to Indonesia.
What was initially supposed to be a short-term assignment turned into more than two years.
Liz worked on HIV prevention programs for drug users, including assisting the Indonesian Department of Corrections with developing a more consistent approach to managing HIV within prisons.
Her work took her into several Indonesian prisons, including Kerobokan Prison in Bali, which later became well known to Australians through the Bali Nine and Schapelle Corby cases.
It’s certainly not the usual background of someone who eventually becomes a podiatrist.
Why Podiatry?
After returning to Australia and having children, Liz eventually began thinking seriously about what she wanted from the next stage of her career.
And her approach was surprisingly methodical.
She wanted a healthcare profession where there was demand, where she could practise independently, potentially own a business, work in private practice or government, and earn an income directly from providing a service people already wanted.
Liz went through the AHPRA professions looking for something that ticked the boxes.
Podiatry did.
So, in her 40s, she went back to university and graduated as a podiatrist in 2018.
Discovering Practice Ownership
In 2024, Liz opened North Star Podiatry in Hornsby, New South Wales.
One thing she’s discovered since becoming a business owner is how much she values autonomy.
As an employee, you can have a fantastic idea, but someone else ultimately decides whether you can implement it. As an owner, Liz can research an idea, test it, learn from it and shape the clinic around the experience she wants to create.
She admits she’s not sure she could go back to being an employee.
The Power of Listening
One of my favourite parts of our conversation was talking about communication.
Liz came into podiatry with decades of life experience, communications training and qualitative research behind her. She was already accustomed to asking questions, listening carefully and trying to understand people’s stories.
Those skills transferred beautifully into clinical practice.
Patients don’t always want someone to simply look at their feet, make a diagnosis and send them on their way. Sometimes they need someone who genuinely listens.
Liz has had patients cry during consultations because they finally felt somebody had heard what they’d been trying to say.
That’s a powerful reminder that some of the most valuable clinical skills aren’t necessarily the technical ones.
Podiatry as a Good Friend
Towards the end of our conversation, Liz described her relationship with podiatry in a way I really liked.
Public health was something she did for love. Podiatry initially began as a practical career decision.
But over time, podiatry has become a “good friend.”
It provides Liz with a career she enjoys, meaningful relationships with patients, autonomy through business ownership and the freedom to have a life beyond her profession.
And perhaps that’s one of the biggest lessons from this episode.
You don’t necessarily have to live, eat and breathe podiatry.
Podiatry can be an incredibly rewarding part of your life without needing to become your entire life.
Final Thoughts
Liz’s journey is a reminder that careers don’t need to follow straight lines.
Sometimes the experiences that appear completely unrelated to what you’re doing today are the very experiences that make you better at it.
Whether it’s living in another culture, changing careers, starting a business later in life, learning how to listen or simply having experiences outside the profession, everything adds another layer to who you become as a clinician.
And if there’s one message Liz leaves younger podiatrists with, it’s this: don’t become so consumed by work that you suddenly look up and realise six months, six years or even longer has disappeared.
Podiatry can be a great career. But make sure you’re also building a great life around it.
Other episodes that may be of interest:
436 – Who Are You When You’re Not Being A Podiatrist
434 – See the World with Your Podiatry Degree
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