Cliff Coleman – History
Cliff is the owner manager of Northcoast Podiatry and has worked as the principal podiatrist since creating this business in Ballina in 1992. During that time he and his wife Dorene have raised two daughters.
In 2002 Cliff won A Winston Churchill Fellowship. Winning this award involved travelling to the UK, Germany and California to study Pedal Ischaemia measurement techniques in hospitals and universities. His family travelled with him. Cliff continues to lecture and run workshops for his colleagues in his profession on the findings derived from his Churchill Fellowship.
The above fellowship award was based on a Master of Science by research degree completed in 2000 at the local regional Southern Cross University at Lismore. His research was undertaken in a team that included local vascular surgeon Dr John Graham, local radiologist Dr Ian Cappe and Associate Professor Roger Bronks.
At the end of the eighties Cliff had completed his Diploma of Applied Science – Podiatry from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and then his Bachelor of Education. During this period he was a clinical teacher (Podiatry) and lecturer for QUT and did locum work in Brisbane .
In the mid eighties Cliff taught Physical Education and Health in NSW secondary schools the last appointment being at Coffs Harbour High School. He met, courted and married Dorene at this time.
He attended Sydney Teachers’ College for teacher training in the late 1970s. Prior to this he grew up in Blacktown in Sydney, played rugby league at a state level and was graded with the ‘Penrith Panthers’ (as were all his brothers) while attending Teachers College.
Personal Interests
Cliff enjoys – Family, Keeping fit by running on our beaches, lap swimming, surfing (board and body), Art, most sports, dining with friends and music. Cliff and Dorene enjoy the ‘connectedness’ of raising a family in such a beautiful regional area.
Professional Interests
Cliff consults, acts as an examiner and supervises students on research projects for a number of universities related to his research field. One local PhD project he was involved in quantified the relationship between poor foot posture and patella femoral pain (knee pain), a quick clinical diagnostic test now used by podiatrist and physiotherapists resulted from this research.
Cliff is interested in ‘Innovation’ – to this end Cliff has a company called ‘Spike Mates’ that invents and develops protective and performance enhancing equipment for athletes.
Periodically Cliff is retained as an ‘expert witness/consultant’ in medico-legal cases and he finds this academically and clinically stimulating; Cliff enjoys mentoring recently graduated podiatrists and undergraduates.Cliff enjoys how practicing podiatry, doing research and living in our region enabled the development of a close ‘referral community’ for NCP which includes local specialist physicians, surgeons, general practitioners, paramedical colleagues and friends and family of existing patients.
Northcoast Podiatry sponsorship interests
NCP has sponsored (with some financial and/or clinical assistance) emerging local young sports people including track and field athletes – Susannah Hahn and more recently Ellie Stephens; Local North Coast representative 15 years old Hockey teams and the local twelve years old girls ‘Hoppers Touch team.
NCP had clinical involvement with Olympian Mellissa Munro whom starred in the 2004 Australian Women’s Gymnastic team helping them reach the Olympic finals in Athens, a first for any Australian Gymnastics team!
NCP has been a regular major sponsor of the ‘Southern Cross Arts Festival’ as well as owning and enjoying some of the past winners works including those of artists Glen Vause and Ian Cole. Examples of such paintings appear in the NCP reception room.