Students wanting to become community service workers are in a unique position to explore rewarding careers in a broad range of fields. They have an opportunity to assist others and giving back to the community–through different work environments.

As a community service worker, you’ll develop the necessary skills to work with people in different age groups with a variety of social and emotional issues. You will also receive technical training that focuses on the helping process, human development, first aid, CPR, and crisis prevention. The practical experience gained from your program equips you with the tools you need to make a real difference in people’s lives. 

We will help introduce four different work environments that students in community service worker programs can consider exploring after completing their studies!

1. Becoming a Child and Youth Worker at Counselling and Advocacy Centres 

Graduates of a community service program have many employment environments to choose from. One of them is counselling and advocacy centres, where graduates can help guide children and adolescents through difficult situations—possibly including family issues, bullying, or even substance abuse. 

In this role, you would provide a valuable service that contributes to a better life for children and adolescents. By conducting interviews and counselling clients, relying on case reports and statistical data, you can help ensure that those in need of help receive better care and support. Students interested in becoming child and youth workers at counselling and advocacy centres can look forward to a rewarding career that would prioritize the well-being of minors.

2. Working with Adults or Youth at Residential Care Facilities

Group homes and residential care facilities offer community service workers a range of possible work experiences depending on the type or purpose of the facility. Some options may include: houses or treats injured seniors, adults diagnosed with mental illness, youth with behavioural issues, or residents suffering from substance abuse. 

Although each type of residential care facility comes with its own set of specific duties and responsibilities, graduates of community service programs can expect to work directly with patients and clients—greeting and guiding patients through the facility as well as helping them develop key life skills that increase their independence. Graduates can rely on their community service worker training to monitor and effectively communicate with residents–working towards crisis prevention while promoting their health and safety.

3. Making a Difference in People’s Lives at a Community Shelter 

Graduates wanting to aid disadvantaged individuals can explore fulfilling careers in community shelters–helping those experiencing homelessness transition into more stable housing. In this role, community service workers can introduce shelter residents to important services that boost their independence.  

Depending on the shelter and its financial resources, you might be working separately or in large teams to improve the lives of residents and to maintain order. Having strong communication and conflict resolution skills can be particularly useful in this working environment. You can also use the skills gained from community service worker college to conduct research. This would include using case reports and collected data to accurately assess progress and continue providing the best care possible.

4. Working in Immigration and Settlement Services After Community Service Worker Training

Community service workers who work at settlement agencies are invested in helping immigrants adapt to their new life in Canada–providing them with resources to better ease their transition. These resources can include cultural, educational, recreational, or financial information that would enable them to get the most out of their situation. 

Through this position, you can work directly with newcomers to help them navigate new terrain. You will help by exploring the best career or education opportunities, securing life essentials, or assisting with government forms and applications. A rewarding career in this field can help new settlers discover valuable services that address their family’s needs more easily. 

Are you interested in taking a community service worker course?

Contact Medix College for more information!

In Canada alone, recent research has shown that about 21% of the population will experience addiction during their lives. While addiction is extremely prevalent across society, there are still a number of misconceptions surrounding this disease. Namely, many people don’t know that addiction is a disease. Addiction is a term used to describe the problematic use of a substance, and is characterized by compulsivity or difficulty managing use despite negative consequences. 

If you’re considering a career as a community service worker, you may encounter individuals suffering from addiction. In order to effectively support these individuals, it’s important to be equipped with an understanding of addiction, which is an incredibly complex disease. 

Read on to discover three things that you might not know about addiction. 

1. Those with Community Service Worker Training Should Know that Many Factors Can Lead to Addiction

There isn’t one singular factor that can determine whether a person will develop addiction. Rather, there are many different factors that can interact with each other to cause addiction. If you’ve ever wondered why some people become addicted to substances while others don’t, it may have to do with circumstances such as genetics, environment, mental health issues, and more. After completing your community service worker training, it’s important to understand these causal factors in order to work with those suffering from substance use disorders.

Some people may inherit a genetic predisposition for vulnerability to the addictive properties of substances. In fact, genes account for about 50% of a person’s risk of developing an addiction. Another factor is environment. This can include the community that an individual has grown up in, the person’s quality of life, their peers, their family, or their economic status—any one of which can affect the likelihood of the person developing a substance use disorder. Mental health issues can also increase a person’s predisposition to developing addiction, as research has shown that more than 50% of those suffering from addiction have also had mental health problems throughout their lives. Lastly, people may use substances as a means to cope with tough situations, developing an addiction as a result.

2. Addiction Changes the Brain

Addiction is often misconstrued as something that can be cured by quitting the use of a substance, but the reason that addiction is so difficult to treat is because it changes the brain. Addiction can alter the brain’s natural balance, its chemistry, its communication pathways and even its structure. The compulsion and cravings created by addiction can change the brain’s balance as it adapts to this new behaviour, creating a new balance called allostasis. The dopamine surges which result from substance use can alter the brain’s reward circuit, creating a dependency on this form of dopamine rather than deriving pleasure from other sources of joy, such as spending time with friends or eating. Thus, addiction is extremely complex to treat, as it creates change in the brain itself.

3. There Isn’t One Right Way to Treat Addiction

After community service worker college, you may work with individuals suffering from substance use disorders. When working with these individuals, it’s important to realize that addiction treatment is a complicated process of unlearning and implementing a variety of strategies that work towards behavioural change. For these reasons, focusing on sobriety alone isn’t always effective. Individuals will typically need to find other sources of joy rather than simply maintaining a goal of abstinence, and there will not be one universal treatment strategy that works for everyone. 

For many suffering from addiction, positive reinforcement and communication will be more effective than punishment, which can cause an individual to feel isolated and spiral further into addictive behaviour. Since the chances of relapse are high during an individual’s recovery, they will benefit more from continued support and focus on emotional health rather than shaming. Treating addiction is a process, and individuals may battle addictive behaviour for the rest of their lives. When helping individuals to overcome addiction, it’s important to work with empathy, patience, and understanding above all. 

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Community Service Workers have an important role in creating change in the lives of individuals and families in need of help. While their duties can vary, Community Service Workers (CSWs) generally equip their clients with resources to remove themselves from harmful or negative situations. CSWs also provide clients with the emotional support necessary to make lifestyle changes and move away from detrimental coping mechanisms or patterns of behaviour. The communities and clients they work with may differ, but CSWs often work with those suffering from addiction, mental or physical disabilities, abuse, situations of poverty, or other forms of instability. 

Behaviour modification is a form of treatment which focuses on altering an individual’s patterns of behaviour or reactions to create positive change. Familiarity with behaviour modification techniques can be helpful to Community Service Workers looking to implement various types of solutions for the communities, families and individuals that they work with. 

Here’s the basic science behind behaviour modification explained to those taking CSW training.

Behaviour Modification Explained for those in Community Service Worker College

Behaviour modification is a form of treatment encompassing a set of techniques which help individuals to change their patterns of behaviour or reactions–with the goal of replacing damaging behaviours with beneficial ones. Developed by renowned psychologist B.F. Skinner, this treatment approach is based on the notion that behaviour can be changed through mechanisms of reinforcement and consequence. Professionals with Community Service Worker training can learn to apply different techniques of behaviour modification when equipped with an understanding of the psychology behind this approach.

Behaviour modification is driven by the concept of conditioning. Classical conditioning refers to a signal which precipitates behaviour. For example, the sound of a notification on one’s phone will typically correspond to the action of checking to see who it’s from. On the other hand, operant conditioning is conditioning which shapes behaviour using a reward/punishment approach. Rewarding a child after they put their toys away or punishing them when they behave badly are both forms of operant conditioning–as a child is taught what forms of behaviour are acceptable and which are not. 

Why is Behaviour Modification Important for Community Service Work?

Behaviour modification is based on the notion that because behaviours can be learned, they can also be unlearned. The ability to “unlearn” behaviours is relevant to the work of CSWs–as these professionals often work with individuals stuck in harmful or negative patterns of behaviour. The clients of Community Service Workers may be experiencing mental health problems, addiction or substance use issues, relationship issues, or negative thought patterns as a result of traumatic experiences and situations. 

Replacing negative behaviours with positive ones can empower those in situations of crisis or helplessness to work to change their circumstances and to be more receptive to aid and counseling. On the job, graduates of Community Service Worker college will learn to recognize when an individual’s situation could be improved through a behaviour modification treatment approach. Keep in mind that CSWs will often work to implement these techniques with the support of a wider mental health care team working with the affected client. Here are some ways that behaviour modification can be implemented.

Techniques for Implementing Behaviour Modification after Your Community Service Worker Training

There are a variety of different techniques which CSW professionals can employ to help their clients create changes in their behaviour. The following behaviour modification techniques are likely to be the most relevant to the field of community service work. For clients suffering from trauma or anxiety, systematic desensitization can be a helpful behavioural modification tool. This approach uses a classical conditioning approach to teach clients techniques to remain calm in the face of their fears. 

Another approach is chaining, which is helpful for individuals who could benefit from learned behavioural change in order to work towards a goal or accomplishment. Behaviour chains are sequences of behaviours in which multiple behaviours are put together to form a greater behaviour. Chaining teaches individuals to recognize reinforcement mechanisms after completing a sequence in the behaviour chaining. Gradually, chaining gives individuals the skills necessary to accomplish something independently, and can be useful for helping clients to develop an approach to a complicated situation.

If you’re thinking of becoming a Community Service Worker, behavioural modification can be a powerful tool to implement solutions for clients in difficult situations. While these are just some of the techniques involved in behavioural modification, there are a variety of approaches that you can apply as a CSW. With the support of a wider mental health team that may be also involved in an individual’s care, you will be able to help clients create positive changes in their habits, reactions and actions. 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively uprooted our routines, making it hard for many of us to adapt quickly. So much has changed since the beginning of the pandemic. Mental health concerns are rising as many people now have to face various health-related fears and anxieties as well as newfound stress in their lives. Community service workers (CSWs) have been instrumental in providing much-needed support—especially during these unprecedented and challenging times. 

By providing valuable help to others, community service workers might be susceptible to compassion fatigue. This happens when caregivers experience profound emotional and, at times, physical exhaustion. The increase of COVID-related cases and the impacts they have had on the population’s mental health means that CSWs are now more important than ever. Whether helping people who have relapsed and returned to their addiction during the pandemic, or who may be facing homelessness due to financial difficulties, CSWs can be there to help. Of course, CSWs also need to take care of themselves during these difficult times. And so, checking for compassion fatigue (and knowing how to prevent it) becomes a key aspect in ensuring the mental health of these essential workers. 

Addressing Desensitization and Potential Second Traumatic Stress During COVID-19

Compassion fatigue can be linked to multiple factors, typically involving desensitization—a lack of feeling created by overexposure to highly emotional cases. The COVID-19 death toll can be viewed as an example of this, particularly as the numbers keep rising at a mind-numbing pace. According to research, our brains are less emotionally engaged when large numbers of people are involved. 

Similarly, those in community service worker training might feel overwhelmed and emotionally or physically drained when dealing with a large number of new clients. This sense of indirect trauma could lead to secondary traumatic stress, where caregivers and CSWs experience second-hand trauma due to exposure to the trauma of others—often resulting in anxiety, hypervigilance, or even numbness. 

Combating Burnout During Your Career After Your Community Service Worker Training

Another big aspect of compassion fatigue is burnout, which usually occurs when individuals are overworked and are not provided with enough resources to help themselves. As CSWs have had to face numerous challenges during the pandemic, this pressure can cause strain. However, by ignoring the signs of burnout, CSWs risk developing more serious stress-related conditions. That is why establishing good self-care routines is important. For example, getting regular sleep and exercise as well as eating healthy and socializing are all great ways to improve your well-being. 

Building a Strong Community and Emphasizing Compassion Satisfaction 

Community building allows us to fight isolation even during quarantine—motivating us to help each other get through these hard times. Try to check in on your colleagues after your community service worker course to make sure everyone is doing well. Remember, compassion fatigue is normal, especially when working under unprecedented conditions.

Compassion satisfaction is all about focusing on the positive and rewarding parts of the job. It’s an important reminder of why we do what we do, and knowing that it makes a big difference. That’s why we’d like to highlight our incredible team of resilient heroes who have continued learning, teaching, and even working on the front-lines. We are so proud of our MedixHeroes who have all worked hard to create a positive change during these difficult times.  

Do you want to help others by going to a community service worker college?

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Community service workers (CSWs) are professionals equipped with the training and skills to provide assistance to clients in a variety of situations. CSWs may help people struggling with substance use problems, homelessness, and more, working in a range of environments, from shelters to treatment centers. 

One of the services community service workers may provide is crisis intervention. Crisis intervention involves implementing different strategies to help an individual, depending on the situation at hand. To best help those experiencing a crisis, CSWs need to possess an understanding of how to recognize crisis situations, assess them, and ultimately intervene in a way that achieves the best possible outcome for the individual. Read on to discover a few skills that are important to have as a CSW working with an individual in crisis.

Defining the Term “Crisis” for Studens in Community Service Worker Training

Crisis is a term that lacks a concrete definition, mostly because a “crisis” is a term that is specific to an individual and how they perceive something. If an individual is completely overwhelmed by a situation or event and cannot come up with their own solutions or implement their typical coping mechanisms, they may be in a state of crisis. 

A crisis state is characterized by emotions such as helplessness or doubt, and is likely to occur when there is a shift in an individual’s environment that causes significant stress. If individuals perceive this change as a crisis, the situation becomes a crisis situation. Individuals in crisis can also be identified by changes in their health and how they function, both emotionally and physically. They may experience exhaustion, mood swings, depression, or changes to activity and their sleeping habits. Professionals with CSW training should be able to recognize an individual in crisis, and gauge the seriousness of the crisis so that they can begin to provide support. 

How CSWs Can Help Those in Crisis

After identifying an individual in crisis, CSWs can begin the next steps of handling a crisis: assessment and intervention. CSWs can assess the individual undergoing a crisis through a conversation that allows them to get information and context about the individual’s situation, allowing them to understand the level or instability or hazard involved in their situation, as well as evaluate potential threats to the person’s safety. A CSW can obtain this information by asking questions about the situation and the person’s emotions surrounding it to encourage communication and get a sense of the cognitive state they are in. Their cognitive state refers to their patterns of thinking, and whether they’re capable of making rational decisions. Remember, during this process, a CSW should remain supportive and sensitive, creating a judgement-free zone.

Based on the assessment, those with community service worker training should begin to work more directly with the situation, or intervene. Intervention involves a discussion between the CSW and the individual about possible strategies and resources available to help alleviate the effects of the crisis. 

Above all, it’s important for CSWs to remember that they should always be taking the context of their client’s situation—as well as their preferences and concerns—into account so as to come up with a strategy that’s best suited to them. Crisis intervention is a stressful endeavour, but with the right training, community service workers can help individuals facing problems of all kinds and make a difference in their lives.

Are you interested in a community service worker course?

Check out Medix College’s program options today.

Community service worker (CSW) programs, such as the one offered at Medix College, are a great option for those looking for an accessible and fulfilling career with a lot of variety. 

If you’re feeling unsure about what direction you want your career to take, it could be a great option for you. What are some things that set it apart? Read on to find out why choosing a career in community service work is a smart decision. 

It Allows You to Make a Difference

Community service work is focused on supporting individuals and families with the appropriate resources they need to improve their current situations and environments. As a community service worker, you are continually making a difference in the lives of people by applying fitting solutions to the problems they face and creating change. This work is needed now more than ever so that societal issues and those affected by them can be addressed with holistic and humanistic strategies for problem solving, recovery, and healing. 

Community Service Workers Are Needed

Choosing to become a community service worker doesn’t just mean making a difference in your community. It also means being part of important change that governments are increasingly investing in. In Ontario, government funding is increasingly put toward social initiatives requiring greater numbers of community service workers with different specializations. Funding for long-term strategies addressing homelessness, mental health and addictions, and indigenous communities is creating sustained demand for community service workers. 

Community Service Worker Courses Allow You to Gain Experience During School

Making a career change can be an intimidating experience. Fortunately, good programs provide plenty of hands-on training, helping to make the transition a smoother one. Medix College’s CSW program, for example, allows for technical, hands-on training for students in their community service worker courses. Students will be able to practice with both families and individuals. They will gain experience by working with people of different ages and backgrounds, preparing students with knowledge to respond to an array of social emotional issues.

CSW Training Qualifies You for a Variety of Jobs

Upon completion of community service worker college, graduates are qualified for a range of jobs within different agencies and facilities. CSWs can work in both public and private school boards, residential facilities, adult and youth group homes, addiction treatment centres, community shelters, advocacy and counselling centres, and immigration/settlement services. 

CSWs might perform a variety of tasks within these sectors, such as interviewing or counselling clients, intervening in crisis situations, providing assistance to social workers, reporting with statistical data and case reports, and providing support and advocacy services to individuals and families. 

Community Service Worker Colleges Offer Convenient Options

For those hesitant to enroll in a community service worker program due to financial or schedule constraints, Medix College offers a range of options to make training accessible to those who are interested. With locations all over Southern Ontario, you’ll never have to travel far to attend class, and with programs of a reasonably short duration, students with commitments at home and at work can rest assured that they’ll have time to attend school without sacrificing their other obligations. 

With small class sizes and group work, as well as many student services which offer individualized attention and guidance, Medix College’s program ensures you have what you need to succeed–while offering a range of financial aid options and payment plans for those who might not think they’re able to afford it. 

Think community service worker school might be right for you? 

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Domestic abuse doesn’t always mean physical abuse—it can also be psychological. Coercive control involves the use of abusive tactics like gaslighting, isolation, and humiliation to control or manipulate someone. Abusers may prevent their partner from seeing their friends, for instance, or controlling different elements of their life, such as what they wear.

As you can imagine, coercive control can have severe impacts on a person’s emotional and mental health. Community service workers have the important opportunity to walk alongside these individuals, intervene in crisis situations, and create a strategy to help them with their situation. 

However, coercive control can be hard to detect—especially if your client has been manipulated to believe they deserve it—so it’s important to understand what controlling relationships look like, and how you can support your clients.

After CSW Training, You Can Help Clients Identify a Controlling Relationship

The first step in helping clients deal with controlling relationships is helping them recognize that their partner’s behaviour is, in fact, abusive. Your clients’ partners may have tried to convince them that their constant criticism is justified, and may have gaslighted your client into thinking they’re crazy for thinking otherwise.

While constructive criticism is a part of any relationship, if your client’s partner constantly critiques their interests, financial choices, decisions at work, and even wardrobe selections, there is likely something more at play. 

In a controlling relationship, these critiques are not mere suggestions—they are psychological tactics that abusers use to control their partner’s decisions and actions. As a community service worker, you can help your client discern these abusive comments.

Encourage Clients to Create Community and Avoid Isolation

In a controlling relationship, abusers often try to isolate their partners because the less contact their partner has with others, the more likely they are to believe the abuser’s lies. Abusers may prevent their partners from seeing friends and family by acting jealous, spreading rumors, or even forbidding them from seeing other people.

In community service worker college, you will learn that there are different ways you can help your clients escape isolation without causing tension with their partner. Oftentimes, those experiencing coercive control will be wary of leaving home, but simple activities like going on a walk, attending religious services, and even shopping can help your client experience freedom. You can also encourage your clients to connect with friends and family through phone calls, texts, and emails—but keep in mind that these messages may be monitored by their partner.

Counteract Gaslighting After Community Service Worker School

By definition, gaslighting is the act of manipulating a person by making them question their thoughts, memories, and even sanity. A gaslighting partner may try to convince your client of events that never actually happened or blame them for things they did not do, for instance.

Community service workers play an imperative role in these situations. After CSW training, you can become the voice of reason in the lives of people whose understanding of reality has been distorted by affirming their perspective and helping them recognize their partner’s attempts at gaslighting them.

Is community service worker school for you?

Find out by contacting Medix College today!

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought great disruption to virtually every aspect of our lives, but one of the biggest impacts has been on our collective mental health. The crisis has given rise to many issues that can be detrimental to one’s mental wellbeing, such as loss of employment, loss of a loved one to the virus, or just the mental toll of being stuck at home during self-quarantine. 

However, those doing community service work in locations such as addiction treatment centres, crisis centres, women’s shelters, or youth group homes can provide help and services to those that have been particularly impacted by COVID-19.

While the pandemic has been a trying time in many different ways for just about everyone, there are plenty of methods a community service worker can use to help people maintain their mental wellbeing. Here are three ways community service workers can help those in need with their mental health during the pandemic.

CSWs Can Help Clients in a Variety of Difficult Situations Through the Crisis

If your choice of environment during community service work is as a crisis intervention worker, there are many scenarios in which you provide the help people need during this pandemic. 

For example, you could have clients who have recently lost a loved one to the virus, or have found themselves out of work. You could also have a client who is a victim of domestic abuse, a situation that may have been exacerbated by staying home in quarantine.

Or, you could have clients who generally feel anxious, overwhelmed, or fearful of the impact the pandemic will have on their employment, finances, or their overall future. In these situations, a person who has done their community service worker training can provide help or counselling — even if just in the short-term —in order to help clients cope with their circumstances, and feel more able to navigate them.

Working in Addictions After Community Service Worker Training

Another population that has been particularly impacted by the pandemic is those who have struggled with addiction. For example, substance abuse, such as alcoholism or excessive drug use, is at risk of increasing during crisis situations like this. 

These circumstances can incite greater feelings of stress and anxiety in people, and this can be even more of an issue for those who have grappled with addiction problems in life. Additionally, clients who would typically spend time in an addictions centre likely cannot visit one right now, or are wary of visiting one out of fear of contracting COVID-19. 

A community service worker can provide these clients with counsel on how to manage their problems during the crisis, as well as positive habits they can develop in order to cope.

Point Clients in the Direction of Resources That Can Help Them

While the pandemic is undeniably a trying time for virtually everyone, you can use the knowledge you’ve gained from community service worker courses to help clients through the crisis. One way to do so is by informing them of services and companies who can provide them with further assistance. 

In Ontario, resources include the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), Ementalhealth.ca (an initiative from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, if you have younger clients), the Ontario COVID-19 Mental Health Network, and the Ontario Psychological Association. Clients from outside Ontario can reach out to services like Wellness Together Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC). Although community service workers can provide support and counsel to those in need, be sure they know that other resources are also available to them.

Want to attend community service worker college?

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Helping others rebuild their lives and regain confidence in themselves is one of the most important aspects of community service work, but it’s worth remembering that doing so successfully involves having certain skills under your belt. Honing these skills will help you to foster a positive transformation for both your clients and yourself as a community service worker.

Community service worker training can lead to several different kinds of job opportunities, such as a community support worker, rehabilitation care worker, or intake worker, which all involve some level of counselling abilities, while there are also a number of career paths more specifically focused on the counselling realm. Here’s how CSW students can learn to be better counsellors.

Becoming a Better Listener Through Community Service Worker Training

Being a good listener is arguably one of the biggest pillars of doing your job successfully as a community service worker. Therefore, the importance of being the best you can be at actively listening to others cannot be understated.

 

 

As a community service worker, you will not only need to pay attention to what clients are saying, but how they’re saying it, and what the context behind what they’re saying is. You will also need to develop an understanding of body language and what it means with regards to specific clients and their situations.

CSWs Learn to Be Present With Clients and Avoid Judgment

Forming relationships with clients after your community service worker trainingrequires a lot of empathy.You will need to remain patient and calm, even in stressful and surprising situations, and also avoid being judgmental. The last thing clients will want is to feel like they’re being judged, as they are looking to you as a safe haven to express their feelings about complex and sometimes uncomfortable circumstances.

The best way to do this is to be present with them, paying full attention to what they have to say, but also maintaining full awareness of your own thoughts, behaviours, and emotions. This can help you become more empathetic to those from other walks of life, and more easily able to help them with their issues, no matter how difficult their stories may be.

 

 

 

CSWs Are Constantly Learning to Be Better Counselors

It goes without saying that no one knows everything, or can genuinely claim to have mastered every single aspect of a profession without the need for further personal development. Whether it’s learning to be more self-aware, or learning to be a better listener, or asking better questions to clients, there are plenty of areas where you will grow and improve as you gain experience in community service work.

And while a CSW course will equip you with plenty of knowledge and skills, you can never stop learning about the craft or about your personal capabilities. You can read books, studies, and articles, attend workshops and conferences, take further classes for personal interest — whatever works best for you. Maintain a commitment to regularly finding new ways to develop as a community service worker or counselor, otherwise it can risk hindering your skills.

Want to take a community service worker course?

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If you enjoy helping others in the community, this could be the career path for you. Community health workers are the link between people and health services in their respective communities. Tasked with duties like administering preventive treatments, educating others on the importance of maintaining their well-being, and working both in an office and outside of it, community health workers can find themselves wearing many hats at once.

No matter what your primary responsibilities end up being, there are many rewards you can reap from working to help make your community a happier and healthier place. Here’s why you should consider working in community health after finishing your training to become a community service worker.

1. Your Day-to-Day Tasks Can Be Extremely Varied in Nature

Community health workers can find themselves with a number of responsibilities on the job, and ones that can be quite different in nature from one another. You could be giving first aid and monitoring patients’ blood pressure and/or glucose levels, collecting data related to health trends and concerns within a population, or referring patients to health services that may be of use for them.

You may also find yourself helping develop and research health care-related programs, as well as distributing brochures and flyers on health awareness and other relevant topics. As a community health worker, no two days are alike, and whatever you end up doing can help improve access to health care services for many people in your community.

2. You Can Educate Others on Maintaining Their Health

Being a community health worker entails working with patients with a myriad of health issues, but one responsibility in particular really stresses the “community” part of the job title. In your role as a community health worker you will educate and inform others about their health, the importance of taking certain medication, managing stress and nutrition, and/or getting immunized, and steps they can take to improve their well-being and lifestyles.

The knowledge you’ve gained from your CSW training will come in handy, as you’ll have learned how to navigate various aspects and complexities of working in the community. Having a solid understanding of your community’s needs and wants can help you not only be a great health care educator, but also the best possible liaison between citizens and health services.

3. You Could Work in Various Environments After Your CSW Training

After you’ve completed your community service worker training, there are a number of settings you could work in. These include hospitals, community agencies, doctors’ offices, counselling centres, and even school boards. Your role as a community health worker may also find you flipping back and forth between working in an office and out in the community, where you could present at community meetings and promote health care-related programs and campaigns. No matter where you find yourself working, your strong communication skills and resourceful nature can help you succeed as a community health worker in any environment.

Looking to attend community service worker school?

Contact Medix College to learn more!