Program Overview

The Personal Support Worker program will prepare you with the knowledge and skills to provide compassionate care when assisting patients, clients and residents with broad-spectrum conditions and health care needs. Your help will enable them to lead active and fulfilling lives in the community and institutions, both here and abroad.

The Personal Support Worker courses will focus on the full range of home and health-related services required by individuals with physical disabilities, cognitive impairments, and chronic and acute illnesses. The skills and knowledge you receive will give you the flexibility to adapt to a variety of settings such as hospitals, homes, schools, community residential agencies, and long-term or chronic care facilities.

During your time in the Personal Support Worker program you'll learn through a hands-on approach facilitated by hospital and community health care-experienced faculty members. Additionally, clinical and community setting learning opportunities will allow you to offer direct care to patients, clients and residents. You'll gain experience caring for persons across their lifespan and learn to effectively communicate and collaborate with members of an interprofessional health care team.

Program Highlights

• This Personal Support Worker program reflects the latest practices and policies in the field.
• You'll spend 14 weeks gaining extensive practical experience by working with teams in hospitals, long-term care institutions and the community. Many students have been offered employment in the agencies in which they completed their placements.
• With one instructor to each small group of clinical placement students, you'll have the support necessary to learn, grow and practice your newly acquired skills.
• Faculty members are experienced, caring and supportive.
• Community agencies and clinical settings recognize the certificate you'll earn.

In accordance with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (2014) program standards, once you complete the Personal Support Worker program, you'll have the ability to:

• Work within the personal support worker role and participate as a member of the interprofessional care/service team and maintain collaborative working relationships in the provision of supportive care in the community, retirement homes, long-term care homes and/or hospital care settings in accordance with all applicable legislation as well as your employer's job description, policies, procedures and guidelines;
• Act responsibly and be accountable for your actions while recognizing the boundaries of knowledge and skills within the personal support worker role that require collaboration with the individuals, families, supervisors and/or other members of the interprofessional care/service team;
• Provide person-centred and person-directed care that's based on ethical principles, sensitive to personal values and family values, beliefs and needs, and which follows the direction of the plan of care or service plan;
• Establish and maintain helping relationships with individuals and their families reflecting open communication, professional boundaries and 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 individuals, their families, self and others, including the implementation of infection prevention, 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 individuals across their 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 individuals with medication, keeping with the direction of the plan of care or service plan, 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;
• Assist with household management tasks and instrumental activities of daily living in accordance with the plan of care or service plan, considering the preferences, comfort and safety of patients, clients, residents, families and significant others;
• Assist individuals who are caring for dependent individuals, considering client and family choices, professional boundaries and the direction of the plan of care or service plan;
• Identify and report situations of neglect, potential, alleged or witnessed/actual incidents of abuse, and respond in accordance with all applicable legislation and employer's policies and procedures;
• Assist in the provision of culturally relevant palliative and end-of-life care to patients, clients and residents experiencing a life-threatening illness and to their families and significant others, from diagnosis through death and bereavement, in accordance with personal decisions and the plan of care/service plan;
• Use identified approaches and best practices to support positive strategies and safe responses for people experiencing cognitive impairment, mental health challenges and/or responsive behaviours.