235 - Career Transition with Kirsten Sinclair

Kirsten Sinclair is a Scottish podiatrist who qualified from Queen Margaret University in 2001. She believes that if you’re unhappy with any aspect of your podiatry career, you need to take action and change it.  Kirsten initially worked in the NHS; however, after falling pregnant with her first child, within the first 12 months of her employment, she was not allowed to return to the NHS part-time. She was given a choice; work full-time work or leave the NHS. Kirsten decided to leave the NHS and instead developed a part-time home visit service to work around her children.   From Routine Care to MSK In 2018, after her children had grown up, Kirsten decided to open her own stand-alone private practice, some 17 years after graduating, and as Kirsten puts it, “it’s never too late”. However, after doing home visits and routine care for 17 years and not using her MSK knowledge, it did take some time for her to transition back into this area of podiatry. She found attending biomechanical seminars and weekend workshops and asking questions, especially from her orthotic laboratory, was especially helpful in improving her MSK skills. “If you want something bad enough, you will be prepared to do the work”. Bigger is Not Always Better Kirsten learnt that owning her own business can be stressful and bigger is not always better. You have far more responsibilities and stress when you expand and take on more team members. The stress of business ownership was difficult, and she often asked herself if going bigger was a good idea or if she should have stayed small and continued to work as a solo practitioner.  “I think a lot of podiatrists as themselves this same question”. Therapeutic Lasers In 2019 Kirsten was introduced to therapeutic lasers (aka photobiomodulation therapy/PBMT), which changed everything for her. Before this, she only used shockwave therapy but found laser therapy far more effective. In 2021 she started working for Celtic part-time and then in January 2022, decided to transition again from business ownership and take on a full-time position as a clinical demonstrator and trainer, teaching others how to use MLS laser to benefit their patients, their practice and them as practitioners. You can connect with Kirsten on Facebook: @kirstenatceltic or via email at [email protected].  If you have any questions about this episode, please email me at [email protected].  Business Coaching  Are you looking for a Podiatry Business Coach who thinks differently? If you are, please email and let's chat to see if we're a good fit for each other. Alternatively, you can schedule a 30-minute appointment directly into my calendar by following this link - https://calendly.com/tysonfranklin/podmeeting30. YouTube Are you SUBSCRIBED to my YouTube Channel, Tyson E Franklin - Podiatry Business Coach? YouTube is where I upload all the uncut videos from my podcasts and other short business tip videos.  Podiatry Business Owners Club Please visit my group, the Podiatry Business Owners Club, on Facebook if you want to connect with like-minded podiatrists who enjoy business.  12-Week Podiatry Business Reboot Have you done the 12-Week Podiatry Business Reboot? It will change the way you think about your podiatry business.