Personal Support Worker (PSW)

The original PSW program standards were developed by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Ontario, and the Ontario Community Support Association produced the original curriculum package. The NACC curriculum was developed in response to member requests to adhere to the highest standards. The current program, while originally based on the MOHLTC curriculum, has evolved to keep pace with the needs of the clients and PSWs. The program is reviewed annually to ensure that it continues to be relevant.

The NACC program content, standards and guidelines, combined with the clinical component of the program, ensure that the graduates have the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful as a Personal Support Worker or Personal Attendant. 

The PSW will develop a skill/knowledge level that includes basic care and social service training. The scope of responsibilities for a Personal Support Worker is as follows:

• Cooperates with all members of the health team
• Promotes safety and works in a safe manner
• Assists with walking, movement and positioning
• Assists with mechanical and physical lifts and/or transfers
• Assists with all aspects of personal hygiene, including laundry related tasks
• Assists with meal preparation, grocery shopping, feeding, dietary planning, food handling
• Answers call bells
• Checks and records vital signs
• Teaches life skills
• Assists with range of motion exercise and other rehabilitative measures
• Practices universal precautions and maintains a clean working environment
• Provides emotional and social support services to care-receivers and their families
• Assists with oxygen therapy, hot and cold applications
• Provide first aid and tend to common allergies
• Work as a supportive care worker for palliative care and hospice patients
• Observes and reports clinical and treatment findings, behavioral changes along with changes in ongoing condition
• Maintains records and documents procedures

In everything personal support workers do, they aim to preserve the dignity, independence, privacy and desires of the people they care for.

 

 PTA/OTA provides a client-centered clinical care for assigned patients under the direction and supervision of a Physiotherapist/Occupational Therapists. The range of employment provided by the PTA/OTA depends upon the individual needs of each person they support and may include assistance in the patient’s physical demands such as walking, standing, lifting, bed mobility, and activities of daily living. They will gain knowledge on the use of assistive device and adaptive equipment such as cane, walker, wheelchair, and other seating, eating, and walking equipment.