The Ascent Rehabilitation Team are ecstatic to share with you that Jessica Pascoe took out the Australian Rehabilitation Provider Association (ARPA) 2022 National Award for Best New Starter! This is believed to be the first time an ACT ARPA Member has won at a national level, and definitely the first time that a Social Worker has won nationally! We are so incredibly proud of Jessica, she always brings her bright, caring, and joyful attitude to our workplace. She sets a wonderful example with her communication and thoughtfulness about people’s health and wellbeing, and we are just so proud to have her in our team, and congratulate her on her amazing work.
The National Awards were held Friday 18 November 2022 in Brisbane, Queensland. It was a fantastic evening, and inspiring to be surrounded by professionals who are so passionate and dedicated to their work, and the stakeholders who collaborate and support the industry. We were not surprised (because she is amazing), but absolutely thrilled when Jessica took out her win. These are a few excerpts from our submission:
With less than a years’ experience, Jessica has become one of our most requested staff members. Feedback received is that this demand is due to her excellent communication, including keeping all stakeholders aware of developments as they unfold. She is always polite, respectful, and joyful in her engagement with all stakeholders. She can identify issues, but not be overwhelmed by their complexity.
Her ability to engage with all stakeholders is exceptional. She is humble in her approach, yet self-assured enough to ask questions that regularly lead to increased understanding of the worker, and which facilitate creative solution exploration.
The speed at which she is able to gain trust and connect with the real, and often underlying issues, enables her to effectively partner with all parties towards a meaningful goal. Her ability to respectfully manage competing, and at times conflicting priorities, ensures that all parties feel heard and understood, while being able to partner towards a resolution.
Jessica embodies the healthy benefits of good work – both with her work with injured and ill persons, but also within our organisation. With clients, she ensures that the information is communicated in a way that the worker understands and is able to engage with it. Ensuring this understanding often assists to bring down fear or concern with the worker, who is then able to engage in return to work planning. By first ensuring this understanding and knowledge transfer, she is able to quickly facilitate return to work discussions as workers feel heard, their concerns acknowledged and addressed, and they feel safe and assured to progress forward. She encourages our team to maintain healthy habits, is always aware of those around her, and offers a debrief and encouragement, and has instituted our gratitude practice.
Our industry nurtures people at their worst, and Jessica has done a brilliant job in bringing her beautiful heart, and caring approach to supporting them and their stakeholders on the journey. Well done Jessica, we are so proud of you.
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