Personal Support Worker

The two-semester Personal Support Worker (PSW) program teaches students the skills required to provide or assist with personal care for the elderly, the chronically ill and persons with accessibility challenges. These patients may live in the community, in long-term care facilities or in select ambulatory care settings. Courses focus on the skills and abilities needed to create a climate that promotes the optimal physical, social and emotional well-being of each client.

As a student in the Personal Support Worker program, you will learn how to practise as a member of an interprofessional health care team through a variety of clinical placement experiences. These experiences will include supervised placements in institutional and community settings, and an interprofessional Simulation Centre experience.

What You’ll Learn

• Work within the personal support worker role in community, retirement homes, long-term care homes and/or hospital care settings in accordance with all applicable legislation and employer’s job description, policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Act responsibly and be accountable for own actions while recognizing the boundaries of knowledge and skills within the personal support worker role that require collaboration with the clients, families, supervisors and/or other members of the interprofessional care/service team.
• Participate as a member of the interprofessional care/service team and maintain collaborative working relationships in the provision of supportive care in community, retirement homes, long-term care homes and/or hospital care settings.
• Provide client-centred and client-directed care that is based on ethical principles, sensitive to diverse client and family values, beliefs and needs, and which follows the direction of the plan of care/service plan.
• Establish and maintain helping relationships with clients and their families, reflecting open communication, professional boundaries, employer’s policies and adhering to confidentiality and privacy legislation.
• Identify relevant client information using basic assessment and communication skills and report and document findings in accordance with the requirements of employer policies and procedures and all applicable legislation.
• Promote and maintain a safe and comfortable environment for clients, their families, self and others, including the implementation of infection prevention and control measures and emergency first aid procedures that are in keeping with the plan of care/service plan, employer policies and procedures, and all applicable legislation.
• Assist clients across the lifespan with routine activities of daily living by applying basic knowledge of growth and development, common alterations in functioning, disease prevention, health promotion and maintenance, rehabilitation and restorative care.
• Assist clients with medication in keeping with the direction of the plan of care/service plan and under the direction and monitoring of a regulated health professional or most accountable person and in accordance with all applicable legislation and employer’s policies.