Tuesday, February 20, 2007

 

Personal Support Worker - A Great Career Opportunity

By Matthias Koster
Support workers provide services to people who need help with their daily needs. You will provide these services in facilities and within the community. Supervised by a nurse or other professional, you are a vital part of a health care team. Legislation, employer’s policies, and the person’s condition influence how you function and how much supervision you will need. Once you gain the required experience, you will find that you are able to adapt your care depending on the setting and situations that arise. Ultimately, the goal of the support work is to improve the individuals overall quality of life. Care needs to be provided in a kind, sensitivity, and understanding manner. While tending to the person’s physical needs, you can also help to relieve loneliness, provide comfort, encourage independence, and promote the person’s self-image. Your service helps people in their homes remain independent. You should always conduct yourself in a manner that let’s the individual know that you care for them and about them. You will make a positive difference in people’s lives! Now, let’s take a look at where you’ll be performing your tasks as a personal support worker. There are two accepted groupings of locations, the first being facility-based and second, community based. To be listed as a Facility-based workplace, a location must provide accommodations, health & support services. There are several different types of facilities, including hospitals and long-term care (retirement) homes. Community-based workplaces include locations within the community where health care and services are provided, but where overnight are not necessary. The most common of these settings would be a person’s home. Obtaining certification to become a Personal Support Worker can follow one of two paths. The first being a traditional educational institution such as a College or University and the second being a specialized educational institution, such as a local learning center (for example, a continuing educational center at a local high school). The government of each province creates a course outline & standard that each institution must adhere to. The wages that a Personal Support Worker can expect to earn can differ from province to province, city to city, and from a unionized to a non-unionized workplace. CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) states that the average wage for a Canadian unionized Support Worker is $14.65 and a non-unionized worker averages $13.42 per hour.
Matthias Koster operates Personal Support Worker Canada (http://www.personalsupportworker.ca), a resource site that provides information on Personal Support Worker job duties, educational institutions offering the course, supplies, and job opportunities.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthias_Koster

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