Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Personal Support Worker Courses in Canada

A personal support worker program prepares students with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist individuals with disabilities, cognitive impairment and chronic illnesses. The focus is on helping them develop a full range of skills, enabling them to provide home and health related services to elderly and people who are physically or mentally challenged.

The program prepares students to function efficiently in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, residential care facilities, long-term care institutions, community support agencies, chronic care facilities, schools, nursing homes, and private duty and homecare. It trains students to work with patients and provide them with care and support to help them lead active and fulfilled lives in the communities and institutions.

Program Details

A personal support worker education program combines classroom learning with hands-on laboratory and clinical and community practice. The students acquire knowledge in human anatomy and developmental stages and alterations in health. They are prepared to work with people in different settings and support them in palliative care.

As establishing communication with clients is an important part of their job, a strong emphasis is placed on helping them develop personal support communication skills. In addition, the program includes filed placements in both community and clinical settings, helping them gain hands-on experience, which is a necessary condition to seek employment after course completion. They learn to participate as a member of the care service teams in both community and institutional settings.

The program graduates are capable of supporting the client's personal and home management care requirements and preferences, assisting in promotion and maintenance of a safe and caring environment for clients and their families and reporting observations to appropriate health care team members in a timely and ongoing manner.

Program Duration

A post-secondary personal support workers course typically runs for one year through two semesters. It includes classroom learning and training in real world settings. Students enrolling in this course spend 15 weeks working with teams in long-term care institutions, hospitals and in the community, in order to gain practical experience. The training reflects the latest policies and practices in the field.

Admission Requirements

In order to apply for a post-secondary PSW program, students will need to submit secondary school diploma or equivalent and scores of English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent.

After admission but before course completion, they will also need to obtain an annual clear police check with vulnerable sector screening and complete immunization requirements, a recognized course in CPR and an acknowledged course in Standard First Aid. They will also need to attend mask fit testing by the college.

Is a personal support worker program recognized?

A number of colleges in Canada offer post-secondary personal support worker programs. Unfortunately, not all are recognized. Therefore, it's important to carefully choose your college. Centennial College's certification program in personal support worker is recognized by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, as well as community agencies and clinical settings. In addition, the college provides students with much required industry exposure through industry field placements, which enhances their career prospects.

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