PSW work challenging, but also rewarding
Friday February 1, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Having worked as a personal support worker (PSW) at Woodland Villa in Long Sault since 1999, Jeannine Frappier says she has found the work to be very rewarding and would recommend it to anyone thinking about a career in long-term care.

The main focus of a PSW is to be active in the daily lives of residents in long-term care. Not only do PSWs assist residents with daily needs such as feeding and bathing, they’re also a person residents can talk to when they need a friendly ear.

Like any job, there are challenges that come with working as a PSW. Frappier acknowledges that one of the greatest challenges can be working with residents who have cognitive impairment.

Anyone working in a long-term care home need to be patient and learn how to effectively communicate with residents affected by cognitive impairment, she adds.

Frappier finds that effective communication can be achieved by looking into the eyes of a person with cognitive impairment and speaking slowly.

She notes that one of the great things about working at the OMNI Health Care-owned home is that staff members are supportive of one another when it comes to tending to the needs of residents.

“You’re never alone in a (long-term care home),” she says.

For Frappier, one of the things she would like to impart on people considering a career as a PSW is the major difference between taking the course in a classroom setting and applying the knowledge in a long-term care home.

“What you learn in school is more or less theory, but whenever you get your hands-on (experience) working with the residents it’s a lot more rewarding,” she says.

And what type of person makes a good candidate for a PSW in a long-term care home?

“If anyone wants to get into this line of work, they have to have empathy,” says Frappier. “They have to have the heart for it and you need to have very good judgment because sometimes you face some pretty challenging days.”