Hiring a Personal Support Worker - Pt. 1

March 1, 2011

I am in the process of hiring a personal support worker to join my team. A process that I must say I have never really enjoyed. This is for a number of reasons.

The first being the pool in which I get to pick my candidates. This said pool is quite large, all be it the quality of the water is mighty poor.

Why?

Well, there are no regulations for course curriculum. Private Ontario Colleges are offering PSW courses - "Pay $10,000.00 and get your diploma in 3 months!". Community colleges offer the same program but it takes a year to finish. These particular courses usually entail at least 6 months of field placement.

I don't know about you, but I want the person who is looking after my loved one to have as much experience as possible, not just a certificate on a piece of paper.

Ridiculously below average training goes in the LONG list of reasons why the senior service industry needs to be regulated.

I am pushing for the private sector but we can all see that the educational level (the bare root of all our PSWs) needs to be fixed.

The Ontario Personal Support Worker Association is fighting to support just this problem. www.opswa.ca

I think we should all gather together and SCREAM for regulations ... everywhere in this sector of health care.

If it is not for our loved ones, then maybe it is for yourself. We will all be in the position of needing care one day. I don't know about you, but call me selfish, I want the best available care out there.