The Long Game

Picture a young woman sitting in her mother's dental centre after school, watching as each consultation began with the same question: "What have you been eating?" Little did she know that this simple query, repeated day after day in that small clinic room, would plant the seeds for a career that would take her from clinical dietetics to groundbreaking research in tube feeding.

This is the story of Lina Briek, and like many great career journeys, it began with knowing exactly what she didn't want to do.

"I definitely didn't want to be a dentist," Lina recalls with a laugh, the memory still vivid in her mind. "I remember growing up in the clinic after school - the spit, the smells, the sounds - I knew this wasn't for me." Yet even as she rejected dentistry, she was unconsciously absorbing lessons that would shape her future path. Her mother's seemingly simple question about eating habits revealed a profound truth: that health begins with what we put in our bodies.

The Path to Dietetics: A Father's Foresight

When it came time to choose a career path, Lina found herself at a crossroads familiar to many young people - that moment when possibility seems endless yet overwhelming. Her father, a telecommunications engineer, cut through the confusion with a simple but profound question: "Do you want to work with people or robotics?"

"People," she answered without hesitation, surprising herself with the certainty in her voice.

What followed was a piece of advice that would shape her future: "Nutrition is the way of the future," her father declared. Despite his engineering background, he saw something that others didn't. "Medicine is too exhausting, it's overdone. There are plenty of doctors out there, but not many people understand the interaction between food and the body."

Though Lina briefly entertained the idea of becoming a veterinarian, her father's wisdom resonated at a deeper level. Looking back now, she sees how this guidance merged with her mother's practical demonstration of the food-health connection. It wasn't just about choosing a career - it was about finding a path that aligned with her intrinsic understanding of how health works.

Breaking Into the Field: The Rural Advantage

Like many new graduates, Lina's entry into the workforce wasn't the smooth transition she'd imagined. "I graduated in 2010 and didn't get a job for the first six months," she recalls, the frustration of that time still evident in her voice.

In that moment of uncertainty, Lina made a choice that would prove pivotal - she returned to university for an honours research year, focusing on malnutrition on a gastrointestinal ward. What felt like a backup plan at the time would later prove to be foundational for her future research career.

Her first real break came in the form of a position in rural Victoria, three hours from Melbourne. "As a Grade One dietitian in that rural environment, I was doing everything - from the paediatric ward to diabetes outpatients to ICU. I saw it all in a single day." The enormity of the responsibility was matched only by the depth of learning it provided.

This experience would shape not just her clinical skills but her entire philosophy about professional development. "I tell all my students and new graduates that rural positions are golden opportunities," she explains, her voice warm with conviction. "You get thrown in the deep end, see everything in a single day, and your confidence just skyrockets." In those early days, far from the comfortable familiarity of Melbourne, Lina was learning a lesson that would serve her throughout her career: sometimes the most growth happens when we're pushed beyond our comfort zone.

The Metro Migration: Navigating Hospital Hierarchies

The transition from rural to metropolitan healthcare wasn't just a geographical move - it was a cultural shift that tested Lina's confidence and resilience in ways she hadn't expected. "In the metro hospitals, your confidence can really take a hit," Lina reflects, remembering the adjustment period. "There are so many people above you in the hierarchy, and it's much harder to build that professional backbone we need."

The contrast was stark. In the rural setting, necessity had bred confidence - there simply wasn't time for self-doubt when you were the only dietitian available. But in the metropolitan environment, Lina found herself navigating a complex web of hierarchies and expectations. It was during this time that she began to understand something crucial about confidence: it isn't just about knowing your stuff - it's about finding your voice within a system that doesn't always make space for it.

Finding Her Voice: The Challenge of Professional Recognition

In the metropolitan hospital setting, Lina encountered the complex dynamics of professional hierarchy and recognition that many healthcare professionals face. Her experience varied dramatically depending on the unit she worked in. "Dietitians tend to be more valued in gastroenterology units than in renal units," she notes, an observation that speaks to the broader challenges of interdisciplinary healthcare.

A pivotal moment came when she joined the parenteral nutrition team as a Grade 2 dietitian. The handover she received spoke volumes about the status quo: "I was told if I wasn't there at the exact time, they'd start the round without me." The message was clear - her presence was optional, not essential.

But rather than accepting this situation, Lina found herself diving deep into reflection about her role and value.

Her approach emerged from this introspection - a delicate balance of sharing knowledge while showing openness to learning, of asserting expertise while building bridges. In those moments of carefully sharing research articles and engaging in thoughtful discussions, she wasn't just building professional relationships - she was discovering her own voice as a clinician.

The Project That Changed Everything

Eight years into her career, in 2018, an unexpected opportunity arose that would reshape Lina's professional trajectory. An intensivist approached her about a project investigating patient transfer times from ED to ICU - completely outside her dietary expertise. It was one of those moments that seem small at the time but later reveal themselves as turning points.

"As dietitians, we're not typically involved in admission processes," Lina explains, recalling her initial hesitation. "This was my first non-clinical secondment, my first project outside dietetics." The project represented more than just a new challenge - it was an invitation to step beyond the boundaries she'd unconsciously drawn around her professional identity.

What started as a 10-month project extended to 14 months, giving Lina a completely different perspective on healthcare. "I had to map patient journeys from admission to transfer. Having no preconceptions was actually an advantage - I could look at the process with fresh eyes." As she immersed herself in understanding patient flow and system inefficiencies, she discovered something surprising: her outsider perspective was actually an asset. The project achieved a 10% improvement in transfer times, but the real transformation was in how Lina saw herself and her capabilities.

This experience planted a seed that would later bloom into something unexpected - the confidence to create her own path in healthcare. Sometimes, she realised, the most significant growth happens when we say yes to opportunities that seem to have nothing to do with our carefully laid plans.

The Management Chapter: Learning Through Leading

As Lina progressed into management roles, she found herself at the helm of a large metropolitan dietetics department just as COVID-19 began reshaping healthcare. The pandemic didn't just change protocols - it forced a fundamental rethinking of priorities that would challenge her deeply held beliefs about healthcare delivery.

"During COVID, the shift in healthcare priorities was massive," she reflects, the weight of those decisions still evident in her voice. "Everything stopped. While I understood why, it didn't sit well with my values about nutrition care." She found herself grappling with a system that seemed increasingly at odds with her understanding of what healthcare should be.

In the quiet moments between crisis meetings and policy updates, Lina began to recognise a fundamental misalignment between the immediate focus of hospital care and her belief in nutrition as a long-term investment in health.

This realisation would become the catalyst for her next big leap.

The Entrepreneurial Decision: From Thought to Action

The decision to leave hospital work after 12 years wasn't made lightly. Each step up the hospital hierarchy had required investment, dedication, and sacrifice. But as the pandemic forced healthcare to pivot, Lina found herself confronting a truth she could no longer ignore.

"When COVID hit, all outpatient services were moved to inpatient care," she explains, the emotion still evident in her voice.

In that moment of system-wide crisis, she saw clearly the gap between what she believed healthcare could be and what institutional constraints allowed it to be.

The Solo Practice Learning Curve

The shift from hospital employee to business owner revealed gaps in Lina's knowledge that would have overwhelmed her had she known about them from the start. "Hospital dietitians aren't trained to run businesses," she admits, able to laugh about it now. For four years, she managed with basic systems - Excel spreadsheets for invoicing and a filing system she now describes with endearing embarrassment as "a shoebox of PDFs."

The journey to professionalising her practice was both humbling and expensive. "It took me four years to hire a business coach," she reflects, remembering the internal struggle between wanting to maintain control and recognising the need for help.

This realisation was particularly confronting - the same drive for excellence that had served her so well in clinical practice needed to be applied to the business side of her work. It was a lesson in vulnerability, in acknowledging that expertise in one area doesn't automatically translate to another. More importantly, it taught her that seeking help isn't a sign of weakness but of wisdom.

The Academic Return: Adding Research to Practice

While building her business, Lina felt an increasingly persistent pull back to academia. "I've always wanted to be an academic," she shares, her eyes lighting up with characteristic enthusiasm. "I see myself as an eternal student, always learning and growing." Her PhD research into home tube feeding wasn't just another qualification to pursue - it was a chance to address the gaps she'd observed firsthand in practice.

Initially, she had imagined her PhD would focus on intensive care nutrition, but her business experience shifted her perspective in unexpected ways.

This alignment between research, practice, and personal values felt like coming full circle. The questions she was asking weren't just academic - they were born from real experiences with real patients, shaped by years of observing the challenges people face when managing tube feeding at home.

Balancing Act: The Present Challenge

Today, Lina juggles multiple roles - business owner, PhD researcher, and mother. While she sometimes misses aspects of hospital work ("I loved learning from the medical ward rounds and nursing handovers"), she's found a different kind of fulfilment in her current path. It's a juggling act that requires constant attention and occasional compromise, but one that feels true to who she is and what she values.

"At this stage of my life, I believe I'm making a bigger difference for patients through home-based care," she reflects, her voice carrying the quiet confidence of someone who has found their place.

The challenges haven't disappeared - they've just transformed. Each day brings new lessons in balance, in prioritising, in accepting that perfect is often the enemy of good. But there's a freedom in this complexity, a sense of alignment between personal values and professional practice that makes the difficult days worthwhile.

Lina's Wisdom:

• Take advantage of rural opportunities early in your career - they build confidence and competence faster than any other setting.

• Invest in yourself and your business early - don't wait years to get proper systems and support in place.

• Find frameworks to channel your energy - it's not about slowing down, it's about finding effective ways to direct your enthusiasm.

• Don't be afraid to step outside your clinical comfort zone - sometimes the most valuable experiences come from unexpected places.

• Recognise when a system no longer aligns with your values and have the courage to create something new.

Looking back on her journey from hospital dietitian to business owner and PhD researcher, Lina reflects on what success means to her:

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