PSW reflects on career of helping others
Monday January 28, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
It seemed to be in Helen Alldred’s cards that she would pursue a career in long-term care.

Planting the seeds of her career at a young age, Alldred was a candystriper at a long-term care home when she was a 13-year-old schoolgirl. She adds that she knew from the start that she wanted to work in long-term care.

What drew her to a career in long-term care, says the personal support worker (PSW) at Huntsville’s Muskoka Landing, was the importance that long-term care plays in the lives of the senior population.

“A lot of the other girls wanted to be in the nursery, I wanted to be in long-term care,” she says.

PSWs wear many hats in a long-term care home, says Alldred.

“We’re involved in their activities of daily living (and) we help them become adjusted to living in a home,” says Alldred, who has spent the past 14 years working in the long-term care sector. “As I always say, we’re a friend along the way.”

Alldred says she enjoys her work as a PSW and that it serves an important personal need — to help others in need.

“I don’t think there’s any job like it,” she says. “I come in happy every day and I go home happy every day. It’s just very rewarding.”

With the long-term care sector facing staffing shortages across the board, there are many opportunities for anyone wishing to pursue a career as a PSW. Alldred recommends that anyone who is a kind, patient and empathetic individual who is considering a career in health care would find the work PSWs do to be meaningful and enriching.

Alldred says as a PSW, you need to be patient and understanding, but you also need to learn to set boundaries so you don’t become too emotionally attached to people. And setting boundaries between residents and staff members, she notes can be a big challenge.

“Know that it’s an important role you play but for your own emotional (well-being) you have to be able to separate yourself and keep yourself professional,” she says.

After her children were born, Alldred worked in home care, eventually moving to private care, where she did a lot of work with people who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. When Muskoka Landing opened in 2001, she began her current position.