Personal Support Worker

ONTARIO COLLEGE CERTIFICATE

Sheridan’s Personal Support Worker Ontario College Certificate Program prepares graduates as caring providers of physical, psychological and social assistance to clients living within the current Long-Term Care Renewal System managed by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Through a curriculum of knowledge, adaptive physical techniques and field practicum experiences, caregivers are taken on a journey of professional learning. This includes hands-on, demanding physical techniques of intimate personal care to help clients, as well as understanding and empathy for the individual’s personal situations and resulting behaviours that accompany changes in independence. This is a physically demanding profession which requires students and graduates to lift and transfer their clients.

Sheridan’s Program prepares graduates to provide their clients with empathetic, confidential holistic care, that promotes independence, mobility, personal appearance, comfort and safety in a growing variety of environments. Communication, observation and reporting skills are developed to ensure Sheridan graduates demonstrate professional, caring and ethical behaviour in order that they become exemplary members of a health care team.

Students will participate in supervised practicums, or field placements, in both community settings and long-term care facilities. This means students will have the opportunity to practice the skills they have learned in the classroom and gain valuable on-the-job experience, as well as develop professional contacts.

Curriculum

To qualify for this certificate, students must successfully complete the following 13 courses. Sections must be completed in sequence.

SECTION A 

COMM19998	Communication Strategies*
HEAL18263	Introduction to Personal Support
HEAL15738	Supporting Safe and Healthy Environments
BIOL19207	Structure and Function of the Human Body
HEAL13431	Mental Health Issues and Cognitive Impairment
NURS14494	Nursing Practice 1**
PLUS	One Additional General Education Elective

SECTION B (Section A must be completed in order to begin Section B)

HEAL13551	Caring for Clients with Ongoing Conditions
HEAL14857	Palliative Care for the Allied Health Worker
HEAL14579	Supporting Families
FLPL19402	PSW Long-Term Care Practicum**
FLPL10606	PSW Community Practicum
FLPL10102	PSW Consolidation

*Must be the first course completed in the program.

**Prior to commencing NURS14494 Nursing Practice 1 and the practicum, and at the individual’s expense, students must obtain a certification in CPR (Basic Rescuer) and St. John Standard First Aid for adults, children and infants, complete a criminal record check, and produce a current immunization record form.

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature student status.

For course and program guidance, email ce-health@sheridanc.on.ca