- I enjoy hobbies that combine physical activity with outdoor exploration
- I love live music and concerts
- Crafting and DIY Projects I enjoy regularly making things from scratch for personal displays in my home
- I enjoy socialising with friends and days out like the zoo or the cinema
Donna Sorensen
Melbourne
Summary
Compassionate Support Worker with extensive experience at Calvary Community Care, skilled in person-centred care and relationship building. Proven ability to enhance client wellbeing through tailored support and effective communication. Experience in managing mental health challenges, fostering independence, and advocating for clients’ needs to improve their quality of life. Known for providing compassionate care and support to individuals from diverse backgrounds with diverse needs.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Support Worker
Calvary Community Care
10.2017 - Current
- Assisted clients with daily living needs to maintain self-esteem and general wellness.
- Helped clients manage and reach individual goals, supporting independent progression and social skills.
- Enhanced the quality of care for clients by providing personalized support and assistance with daily living activities.
- Transported clients to appointments, shopping venues and entertainment events according to determined schedule.
- Established trusting relationships with clients and their families through empathetic communication and active listening.
- Developed strong rapport with clients by consistently demonstrating respect, understanding, and genuine concern for their wellbeing.
- Kept clients engaged in social networks and communities for personal health and growth.
- Mentored new support workers by providing guidance, sharing best practices, and modelling effective client-centred care techniques.
- Accompanied clients to appointments and community outings, ensuring they had access to necessary services and social opportunities.
- Provided emotional support to clients, improving their mental health and overall wellbeing.
Disability Support Worker
Yooralla
10.2014 - 10.2015
- Provided assistance in daily living activities by dressing, grooming, bathing, and toileting patients.
- Developed strong interpersonal relationships with clients, earning their trust and respect through consistent empathy and understanding.
- Supported clients in maintaining a clean living space by assisting with household tasks such as laundry, meal preparation, and general tidying.
- Enhanced quality of life for clients with physical and intellectual disabilities through compassionate care and assistance.
- Kept detailed daily logs with care actions, patient behaviours, and incidents.
- Prepared nutritious meals to meet individual dietary needs for clients.
- Provided high level of physical support by lifting, adjusting, and moving clients.
- Provided emotional support to clients during challenging times, fostering resilience and coping skills.
- Assisted clients in reaching personal goals through targeted skill-building activities and therapeutic interventions.
- Implemented behaviour management techniques when required for the safety of both clients and staff members involved.
- Managed medications effectively for clients under strict supervision from healthcare professionals, ensuring adherence to prescribed treatment plans.
- Kept accurate records for client files and handled related paperwork.
- Improved client independence by developing personalized support plans tailored to individual needs and goals.
- Maintained accurate records of client progress, adjusting support strategies as needed to maximize outcomes.
- Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current on best practices within the disability support field.
- Participated in ongoing professional development opportunities to stay current on industry best practices.
Support Worker
Mecwacare
07.2010 - 10.2014
- Assisted clients with daily living needs to maintain self-esteem and general wellness.
- Helped clients manage and reach individual goals, supporting independent progression and social skills.
- Enhanced the quality of care for clients by providing personalized support and assistance with daily living activities.
- Transported clients to appointments, shopping venues and entertainment events according to determined schedule.
- Developed strong rapport with clients by consistently demonstrating respect, understanding, and genuine concern for their wellbeing.
- Safeguarded client well-being by monitoring health conditions, administering medications, and reporting any changes to appropriate medical professionals.
- Adapted quickly to changing work environments while maintaining high levels of productivity and professionalism under pressure.
- Mentored new support workers by providing guidance, sharing best practices, and modelling effective client-centred care techniques.
- Promoted community integration by providing extensive physical, emotional and social support.
- Accompanied clients to appointments and community outings, ensuring they had access to necessary services and social opportunities.
- Provided emotional support to clients, improving their mental health and overall wellbeing.
- Enhanced clients' daily living skills by providing tailored support in activities such as cooking and budgeting.
Kindergarten Teacher
Chelsea Central 2
05.2002 - 06.2006
- Built positive relationships with students and families for safe, trusted learning support.
- Enhanced classroom management by establishing clear expectations, rules, and routines.
- Implemented differentiated instruction strategies to meet the diverse learning needs of all students.
- Promoted learning through play with engaging activities, games and lessons.
- Promoted a positive learning environment with the use of collaborative group work and hands-on activities.
- Delivered lesson plans, implemented school curriculum and used data to create, monitor, and establish personalized learning plan for each student.
- Improved student reading skills by implementing phonics-based instruction and guided reading activities.
- Developed strong relationships with families to address any concerns or issues impacting student success.
- Recognized children's physical, emotional and social needs for personalized support.
- Monitored and evaluated student progress through regular assessments and observations.
- Played games with students to increase understanding of subjects.
- Reported to parents and administration about student progress.
- Served as a mentor for new teachers, providing guidance on lesson planning, classroom management, and instructional strategies.
- Assisted in curriculum development to align lessons with state standards and improve overall instructional quality.
- Fostered social-emotional growth in students through daily morning meetings, conflict resolution strategies, and character education lessons.
- Applied evidence-based practices for classroom management to enhance learning results.
- Developed and implemented individualized educational plans for special needs children.
- Encouraged creative expression among students through introduction of weekly art projects.
- Encouraged positive behaviors and growth mindset among students through use of motivational charts and awards.
- Organized field trips to local museums and cultural sites, enhancing students' understanding of their community and wider world.
- Enhanced students' physical coordination and teamwork skills with structured group activities during physical education sessions.
- Boosted students' understanding of basic math concepts with use of hands-on learning tools and activities.
- Provided regular feedback to parents on their child's progress and areas for improvement through detailed report cards and parent-teacher conferences.
- Fostered safe and welcoming classroom atmosphere, enabling students to feel valued and heard.
- Improved learning with well-prepared lesson plans that cater to various learning styles and needs.
- Developed and implemented multicultural curriculum, promoting inclusivity and respect for diversity among students.
- Facilitated individualized learning plans for students with special needs, ensuring their successful integration into classroom.
- Cultivated love for reading among students by integrating interactive storytimes into daily routines.
- Delivered structured lessons on readiness skills by emphasizing phonics, language skills, literature, and handwriting.
- Incorporated art, music and physical activity into curriculum for well-rounded education.
- Kept accurate documents about student progress for school and parent records.
- Created and supervised variety of hands-on learning activities for fun and engagement.
- Helped struggling students by motivating and encouraging kids to reach full potential.
- Observed and assessed student performance and charted progress.
Education
Certificate IV - Mental Health And AOD
Genu
Melbourne, VIC02-2026
Certificate IV - Disability Studies
Boxhill Institute
Box Hill, VIC10-2015
Certificate III - Home And Community Care
Navitas
Melbourne, VIC09-2012
Skills
- Person centred care
- Confidentiality and privacy
- Active listening
- Relationship building
- Experienced with Depression and anxiety, PTSD, Dementia, Autism clients
- Cultural sensitivity
- Empathy and patience
- Verbal and written communication
- Mental health assistance and emotional support
- First aid and CPR
- Client advocacy
- Daily living support
Accomplishments
- Documented and resolved a client needing extra services and mental health support which led to a GP referral to a Culturally diverse psychologist.
- Achieved a client to use the self serve checkout at the supermarket through effectively helping with allowing them to make mistakes and patience in teaching them the skill.
- Achieved successful training of new staff on multiple occasions through effectively helping with shadow shifts.
Certification
- Victorian Driver's License
- First Aid Certification
- CPR/AED Certification
- Manual Handling
- Palliative care
- Mental health first aid
- WHS
- Food handling
- Catheter care
Interests
Timeline
Support Worker
Calvary Community Care
10.2017 - Current
Disability Support Worker
Yooralla
10.2014 - 10.2015
Support Worker
Mecwacare
07.2010 - 10.2014
Kindergarten Teacher
Chelsea Central 2
05.2002 - 06.2006
Certificate IV - Mental Health And AOD
Genu
Certificate IV - Disability Studies
Boxhill Institute
Certificate III - Home And Community Care
Navitas
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