Joanna Veal

Joanna Veal: Extended scope podiatrist/Preceptorship lead/Clinical educator at the University of Huddersfied

After graduating from Huddersfield University, Jo began her professional journey at an NHS Trust in West Wales, where she provided podiatry services. Her manager provided her with mentoring during her transition, which greatly supported her understanding of the NHS healthcare system and enabled her to effectively work as a union representative during a service merger and transition. Joanna was recognised for her exceptional work during this time, receiving an award in recognition of her contributions.

Jo's undergraduate dissertation focused on biomechanics, which was a topic of great interest to her. However, upon starting work, she discovered that there were no allocated biomechanics specialists at the Trust. Despite this challenge, Joanna took the initiative to set up a biomechanical clinic within six months of joining the Trust, introducing this service provision to the podiatry department.

After several years at the Trust, Jo transferred to a new Trust where she became a Senior 1 Biomechanical Podiatrist and Clinician Educator where she supervised students. To further her knowledge and skills, she pursued an MSc in Sports Injury and Therapy. Joanna continued her professional development in biomechanics by collaborating with a colleague to develop a service model that reduced orthopaedic waiting times. She brought this model to her new role in North Yorkshire, where she works closely in a multi-disciplinary team with other health professionals, such as physiotherapists, GP with special interest and consultants and has gained advanced diagnostic skills in radiology, including X-rays, ultrasound scans and MRIs, and is embarking on administering corticosteroid injections .

Jo's commitment to continuous learning and development is evidenced by her additional role as a Clinical educator and Preceptorship lead, which has enabled her to work closely with students and new graduates. She has recently taken on a clinical lecturer role at the University of Huddersfield, where she is enhancing her facilitation of learning pillar of practice. Jo finds great enjoyment and fulfilment in the variety of workstreams within her podiatry role, as outlined in the NHS Portfolio Careers.