NIKKI SHORTILL
MICHAEL FITZGERALD
BA. (Fine Art); BSc. Occupational Therapy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association) & Member International Society for Sport Traumatology of the Hand.
After completing initially completing an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts, Michael studied as an Occupational Therapist and has been practicing Hand & Upper limb rehabilitation since he graduated in 1999. He was the clinical manager at two busy private practices for 10 years before opening inHand in 2009. Michael has extensive experience in assessment and management of all upper limb injuries and has trained many Hand Therapists across Perth. His knowledge is well respected, and he is a regular invited speaker at local courses and national conferences. Michael maintains a significant clinical caseload in his position as Principal Therapist and uses his management time to work closely with his entire therapy team to provide ongoing mentoring and clinical support. Michael enjoys the challenge of treating sports injuries for both amateur and elite sports people and is a consultant hand therapist for many professional sporting teams including AFL, AFLW, NBL, NRL, and WAFL. He also has a special interest in the complexity of therapeutic treatment of complex wrist and elbow injuries including post operative rehabilitation.
HELEN FITZGERALD
BSC. Occupational Therapy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)
Helen graduated from university in 2000. Initially working in the public sector at Royal Perth Hospital she worked in Rheumatology; Burns and Plastics; and Spinal Cord Injury rehabilitation for 18 months before developing her Hand Therapy skills during locum work in the UK. On her return to Perth she worked as a Senior Therapist in the Hand & Upper Limb Clinic at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for 8 years before moving into the private sector and devoting her clinical and management time to InHand. Helen is an active member of the AHTA and is involved with mentoring and education for the association. She has a special interest in acute open hand trauma including tendon rehabilitation. She enjoys the challenge of complex clinical reasoning and is passionate about the art of custom splint fabrication and is an AHTA course presenter in this area of practice. She has also published research regarding conservative management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. As a practice Director and Principal Therapist Helen splits her time between clinical management and a client caseload.
AMANDA RANFORD
BSc. Occupational Therapy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)
Amanda graduated from university in 1994. She initially worked in the UK as a locum doing a variety of burns, plastics and orthopaedics before entering a dual managerial/clinician role developing a hand therapy department. Back home Amanda was the manager of the Geraldton Regional Hospital OT department, where she developed the hand therapy caseload, before working in both private practice and the public sector in Perth. Amanda is passionate about tendon repair rehabilitation, arthritis and splint making. She has a developing interest in the rehabilitation of complex wrist injuries and paediatric fracture management.
BETHANIE TREVENEN
BSC. Occupational Therapy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)
Bethanie has been working in the area of hand therapy since graduating in 1999. During this time she has worked in several private hand therapy practices in Perth, as well as working overseas as a hand therapist. She also enjoys her teaching role at Curtin University, teaching both undergraduate and masters students in the area of hand therapy since 2007. Whilst specialising in the area of orthopaedics for 13 years, she also has a special interest in the area of plastic surgery, especially tendon rehabilitation. She is passionate about striving for patients to return to their pre-injury roles and lifestyle.
JOCASTA LILLEYMAN
BSC. Occupational Therapy, BSC. Acupuncture
Jocasta graduated from University in 2002. After initially working in a private hand therapy clinic in Perth she moved to the UK in 2005. During her time overseas she has worked in some of the busiest trauma hospitals in London gaining extensive experience in the treatment of plastics, orthopaedics and rheumatology conditions. She has also spent time in Sierra Leone working in the local hospitals in a teaching and training capacity. She returned to Perth and joined the team at Inhand in 2020. She has a special interest in tendon and peripheral nerve rehabilitation and rheumatology conditions.
SUSAN STINTON
BSC. Physiotherapy, Accredited Hand Therapist (as awarded by the Australian Hand Therapy Association)
Susie is a Physiotherapist that graduated in 2005. She is a Accredited Hand Therapist (as recognised by the AHTA) with experience working in the and upper limb specialties in both public and private clinics; in Perth, London and Sydney. Prior to working at Inhand she was senior physio in the hand clinics at both Fremantle and Royal Perth Hospitals before working in a private hand practice in Sydney. Alongside her clinical caseload she is also undertaking a postgraduate research PhD degree with her thesis on the functional recovery and driving performance following wrist fractures. She has published three scientific articles in International academic journals. Susie has a special interest in complex wrist and elbow injuries/fractures, and general trauma to the hand.
ELISHA STEFANELLI
BSC. Occupational Therapy, ACCREDITED HAND THERAPIST (AS AWARDED BY THE AUSTRALIAN HAND THERAPY ASSOCIATION)
Elisha graduated in 2005 from Curtin University and worked in the UK in stroke rehabilitation, general medicine and home visiting before moving back to Perth to work in a private hand therapy clinic. After leaving the profession to have a family she has returned to hand therapy to pursue her passion for hand and upper limb rehabilitation and splint fabrication. She is currently completing extra study to become an accredited hand therapist. She has a particular interest in hand trauma, pain management and education in the management of arthritis. Elisha brings a friendly and positive vibe to the clinic and is always open to listening to each individual and their particular hand issue.
LINDA CANTY
BSC. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, ACCREDITED HAND THERAPIST (AS AWARDED BY THE AUSTRALIAN HAND THERAPY ASSOCIATION)
Linda is a Certified Hand Therapist who graduated in 2012 from university in the Netherlands. During her Dutch university training she completed a placement in hand therapy in Warrnambool, Victoria which sparked her interest in living in Australia. After graduating she worked in hand therapy in the Netherlands until she moved to Townsville, North Queensland, in 2015. She relocated to Perth in 2019 and with her combination of Dutch training and Dutch and Australian clinical experience Linda brings diversity to the team at InHand and enjoys sharing knowledge and learning off her colleagues. Having worked in both public and private practice she is experienced in most hand and upper limb conditions and has a special interest in hand trauma and rehabilitation of the wrist.
RINA ETO
MASTERS OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, ACCREDITED HAND THERAPIST (AS AWARDED BY THE AUSTRALIAN HAND THERAPY ASSOCIATION), BSC.
Rina graduated with a Masters of Occupational Therapy in 2015. After working in the community disability sector and public hospital setting, she later pursued her passion for hand and upper limb rehabilitation. After joining the InHand team in 2018, her passion for anatomy, continuous learning and evidence based practice led to completing her hand therapist accreditation through AHTA. Rina enjoys treating a range of hand trauma, including sporting injuries of thumb/fingers, wrist injuries including fractures and conservative management of tennis elbow.
