Meet Georgia Presutto, Occupational Therapist/Key Worker and Allied Health Graduate

"There is so much knowledge and experience here, which makes being part of the team an incredible opportunity.”  

Fuelled by a desire to help people find their voice and live independently, Georgia discovered her ideal profession in Occupational Therapy. 

After completing a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (honours) from Monash University, Georgia was able to put her learnings to practice working as an Allied Health Assistant. In January 2023 Georgia enrolled in the ten-week Allied Health Graduate Program at Windermere.

“I loved how well it was structured, as that allowed me to see the whole program and its relevance to the role I would be doing at Windermere,” says Georgia.

As each topic of the program was delivered by a different practitioner, Georgia was also able to gain a wealth of knowledge and become familiar with the Windermere team and their roles.

The opportunity to shadow and learn progressively in the early days and weeks also helped her gain confidence and broaden her knowledge.

“Having that steady pace of learning really helped. You have the space to get to know the family you are supporting and learn all the admin tasks and systems as well.”

At Windermere, Georgia also discovered the Key Worker model that takes a holistic approach to delivering services. A key worker serves as the single point of contact for a family, providing a breadth of Allied Health services including speech pathology, psychology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. 

“Rather than viewing a family’s needs through a narrow OT lens, the key worker model places the child and the family at the centre of multifaceted care. It also strengthens the therapeutic relationship I have with the family,” explains Georgia.

While the key worker model is in the best interest of families needing support, Georgia finds it beneficial for her professional development as well.

“As a graduate the most important goal for me is to keep learning throughout the entire year. I don’t think learning ever stops, and the key worker model facilitates that through carrying out different diagnoses, assessments and interventions,” says Georgia.

Being part of a diverse team and having easy access to the expertise of experienced therapists help to meet the requirements of the key worker role.

“There is so much knowledge and experience here, which makes being part of the team an incredible opportunity. Simply being able to turn to a team member and run a query past them really helps,” she says.

This system of support and the grad program training have laid solid groundwork for Georgia to adapt to real world situations.

“As a student you believe that you must meet certain objectives but in fact you need to take a step back and assess the situation in front of you. It’s refreshing to hear that from the team as well that this is not always realistic,” says Georgia. 

This ability to adapt her thinking and take a different approach to meet the needs of the those she supports has drawn favourable feedback. As one parent states:

I've never seen my son take to someone so easily. You adapted to his needs so well. I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate your work and the effort you have shown in these couple of sessions.

While Georgia values personal and professional development, helping families live better lives remains her primary goal.

“I really love my role as an OT. I’m passionate about empowering people by helping them participate in everything they want to do and become part of the community,” she adds.

Well on her way to forging her career in Allied Health, Georgia has a few pointers for aspiring therapists looking to enrol in the Allied Health Graduate program.

“Ask as many questions as possible. Windermere offers a safe space and all the facilitators are welcoming,” she says adding, “it’s your first year of learning so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to meet objectives.”

Outside of supporting families and developing her professional skills, Georgia enjoys an array of recreational pursuits including a love of dancing which she has nurtured since the age of two.

“I love ballet, tap and jazz dancing. Another one of my favourite things to do is to drive out to a pretty spot and paint for an afternoon. I am also a Harry Potter nerd!” she says.  

Learn more about our Allied Health Graduate program here. For more information on our Occupational Therapy services visit here.