Somewhere between Cairns and Darwin, Claudia Maldonado is thinking about the Northern Rivers.
She is travelling around Australia in a campervan, working out the next leg of the journey as she goes. But ask where she hopes the road might eventually lead, and the answer comes quickly.
“The Northern Rivers will always have a place in my heart.”
Years earlier, as a University of Technology Sydney physiotherapy student, Claudia had signed up for a rural placement expecting a few weeks away from Sydney. What she found in Lismore, Ballina and Casino was something far more lasting: a different way of thinking about health, community and where she might belong.
What she found surprised her.
In Sydney, many graduates compete for the same jobs and the same career pathways. In the Northern Rivers, she saw something different. She saw communities with enormous need, health services stretched thin, and opportunities to make a genuine difference.
She also discovered a side of physiotherapy that doesn’t feature much in sports injury ads or treatment rooms.
Working with children, particularly those with developmental delays or disabilities, meant building relationships not just with young patients but with families, teachers and entire communities. In smaller towns, trust matters. People know each other. Connections run deep.
After graduating, Claudia returned briefly to Sydney, acquired what she jokingly calls her “piece of paper”, then promptly started hunting for a job back in the Northern Rivers. She landed at PhysioPlus, splitting her time between Lismore and Casino, where demand for paediatric physiotherapy far outweighs supply.
Along the way she found more than a career. She found a community, a partner, and a clearer sense of the kind of work she wanted to do.
For her, the placement did not just show her a different part of the state. It showed her what rural health need looks like up close: children waiting for paediatric support, families navigating limited services, and communities where health professionals can make a very practical difference.
“You’re not just going there to finish a placement,” she says. “You’re going there and you’re realising, okay, there’s a huge gap here.”
That has stayed with her. Even while travelling, Claudia says she will always advocate for people to try rural work, and to think seriously about what they can contribute. The Northern Rivers may or may not be her immediate next stop, but it has changed the way she sees her profession and the places where that work can matter most.
